"We reaffirm our commitment to the joint Libyan- Egyptian initiative for the convening of a comprehensive national reconciliation conference, Bashir said Thursday in a state address marking his eleventh year in power.

"In keeping with our effort to consolidate that initiative I am calling for a preparatory meeting of representatives of all Sudanese political organisations and national figures to be held in Khartoum within one month," he said.

He said the preparatory conference would be held after consultation with all political leaders living in and outside the country.

"We should all sit together in an earnest endeavour to stop fighting and save lives of our people in the North and South," Bashir implored.

Sudan's northern neighbours are opting for the conference to bring about a political settlement and an end to the fighting in the country.

A civil war, which has been raging in Southern Sudan since 1983, was further aggravated in 1997 when the Northern political parties teamed up with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) of John Garang De Mabior to fight the government.

Bashir dissolved the parties after he seized power in a coup in 1989.

As a result of the formation of this alliance - the Democratic National Alliance - new war fronts were opened in the East and Southeast.