A senior Sudanese official said here on Sunday that negotiations to settle a dispute between Sudan and Chad will be held in Tripoli, Libya, in preparation for a mini summit to resolve difference between the two countries.

SUNA news agency quoted Sudanese Presidential Minister and former foreign minister Mustafa Osman Ismail as saying that the negotiations would last for two days to end up with a summit "if there is progress".

Ismail, prior to his departure for Tripoli, said this summit came under Libya's efforts to contain the dispute between Sudan and Chad, expecting that the African Union (AU) chairmanship and commission will participate in the summit.

The Sudanese-Chadian relations have witnessed escalation over the last two months after the Chadian government accused Sudan of causing disorder in Chad's eastern border by supporting deserters from the Chadian forces who launched attacks against their government.

Earlier, Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi has led efforts to settle the dispute between the two neighboring countries using his sponsorship to make peace under the Sahel and Saharan Community of which Sudan and Chad are members.

An AU summit held in Khartoum last month has authorized Ghaddafi to continue his efforts to solve the disputes between Khartoum and N'Djamena, capital of Chad.

(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2006)