Sudan's ruling party, the National Congress, has decided to change its bellicose slogan - Jihad, Victory and Martyrdom - to something the rather more conciliatory

The new slogan - Peace, Unity and Development - is meant to promote peace with the largely Christian and animist areas in the south, said Ibrahim Ahmed Omar, the Secretary General of the party.

About two million people have been killed in the 19-year conflict

The move comes as talks resume in Kenya between the southern rebels and the government, in the hope of ending the country's 19-year civil war.

The war broke out when the rebels took up arms against the predominantly Arab Muslim government, to try to gain autonomy for the south.

Correspondents say that many people in southern Sudan felt the slogan depicted the civil war as a holy one, pitting Muslims against non-Muslims, with the reference to jihad - holy war - reflecting the Islamic character of the government.

'Offspring of peace'

"The previous slogan of the party was never intended to be against the southern Sudanese," said Mr Omar.

He insisted that slogans "are usually linked with historical stages", and the new slogan was "an offspring of peace".

The government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) held further talks in the Kenyan town of Machakos this week, buoyed by an agreement between the two sides in July.

Sudan's civil war broke out in 1983 when the rebels took up arms against the predominantly Arab Muslim government in an attempt to obtain autonomy for the south.

An estimated two million people have been killed during the civil war, mainly through war-induced famine.

Another four million have been forced to flee their homes.