BERLIN, Jan. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- The German government on Sunday hailed the signing of a peace accord between the Sudanese government and southern rebels and urged the two sides to turn the accord into reality.

    "The peace agreement is only a first but an enormously important step," the foreign ministry said.

    The German government is prepared to support Sudan on the road to peace, but the precondition is that the Sudanese government must show its readiness for peace, including in western Sudan's Darfur region, the ministry said.

    This signing of the overall peace deal in Nairobi on Sunday culminates two years of peace process to end the 21-year-old civilwar in southern Sudan. It is also expected to act as the incentiveto end the ongoing Darfur crisis.

    The ministry pledged to continue to promote humanitarian relief efforts in Darfur this year where the humanitarian crisis remaineddramatic.

    The Sudanese civil war broke out in 1983 when the SPLM/A took up arms fighting for self-determination in the southern part of the country. It is estimated that two decades of conflict have claimed 2 million lives, primarily from war-induced famine and diseases, and displaced over 4 million others. Enditem