( CNN ) -- Sudan on Tuesday signed a framework peace accord with rebels from the nation 's volatile Darfur region , state media reported . The framework agreement is considered the first step towards the achievement of a lasting peace accord in Darfur . The signing of the cease-fire agreement with the rebel Justice and Equality Movement coincided with a four-way summit in Doha , Qatar , the state-run SUNA news agency said . Participants at the summit include the emir of Qatar , Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani ; Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir ; the president of Chad , Idris Deby ; and Eritrean President Assais Afwerki , SUNA reported . The participants are expected to discuss means of achieving peace in the region , welcoming the steps for realizing peace in Darfur , progress of the relations between Qatar , Sudan , Chad and Eritrea and other issues of mutual concern , SUNA said . Tahir al-Fati , chairman of the Justice and Equality Movement 's legislative assembly , told CNN on Saturday that a preliminary document for the framework agreement was signed Saturday in Chad between representatives of the two sides . A permanent cease-fire -- which , according to this preliminary accord , is to be signed before March 15 -- will be a final step , al-Fati said . Last year , Sudan 's government and the JEM rebels signed a confidence-building agreement in Qatar , a step toward ending the six-year conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands . Qatar has been mediating talks between the two sides in the Darfur conflict , which erupted in 2003 after rebels began an uprising against the Khartoum government . The government launched a brutal counterinsurgency campaign , aided by government-backed Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur , killing , torturing and raping residents , according to the United Nations , Western governments and human rights organizations . Al-Bashir is under pressure to end the fighting , particularly after the International Criminal Court charged him with genocide last year in connection with the government 's campaign of violence in Darfur . In the past seven years , more than 300,000 people have been killed through direct combat , disease or malnutrition , the United Nations says . An additional 2.7 million people fled their homes because of fighting among rebels , government forces and allied militias . CNN 's Jennifer Z. Deaton contributed to this report .
A permanent cease-fire , according to preliminary accord , is to be signed before March 15 . Qatar has been mediating between Sudan and rebel Justice and Equality Movement . Conflict erupted in 2003 after rebels began an uprising against the Khartoum government . In past seven years more than 300,000 people killed through combat , disease , malnutrition .