old war between Khartoum and rebels in southern Sudan. Pronk said peace negotiations were somewhat advancing, but the situation on the ground was deteriorating. "There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it seems as if the tunnel gets longer and longer," he said. Pronk said the council meeting in Nairobi could persuade the warring parties in Sudan to negotiate in good faith and adopt what he called a "declaration of principles" before the end of December with detailed plans for future negotiations on political issues. The war in Darfur, ongoing since February 2003, has killed tens of thousands and made 1.6 million people homeless. A U.N. commission is investigating whether the killing amounts to genocide
