NAIROBI -- Sudan's warring factions gathered in Nairobi on Monday after failing to reach agreement at peace talks in the town of Machakos, and said mediators had given them 48 hours to resolve their differences.

The latest round of talks between the Khartoum government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) were due to end on Saturday but dragged on as the belligerents failed to compromise on details of a protocol on sharing power and wealth.

The SPLA said it was ready to sign a deal proposed by mediators, but that the government was not. SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje said the regional conflict-resolution body Igad had set a Tuesday deadline for finding a solution.

Chief Igad mediator at the talks, Kenyan Lazarus Sumbeiywo, said he was hopeful the two sides would sign some kind of deal based on the past five weeks of negotiations, Reuters reported.

"I'm putting pressure on them to get something out of these talks," he told Reuters.

A Western mediator said he expected the unresolved issues to be carried over to the next round of talks in January. "We can't get them to sign a comprehensive agreement (on power and wealth-sharing)," he said. " But I have no doubt they will come up with something. There's probably not complete agreement on everything, but much progress has been made."

Previous peace initiatives have ended in failure, but analysts say that this time round the combination of international and internal pressure has provided Sudan with its best chance for peace since the war began in 1983.

The current talks were intended to build on the momentum from a round that ended in July with a breakthrough agreement on two of the war's most contentious issues -- giving south Sudan the right to secede from the north, and separating state and religion in non-Muslim areas.

The two sides are scheduled to meet again in January to discuss outstanding problems including how to monitor and enforce a cease-fire, rights abuses and where north and south would be split. The ultimate aim is to sign a lasting cease-fire.

__ Two Million Killed ___ Sudan's war has killed an estimated two million people since it began in 1983. It pits the government in the mainly Muslim north against rebel groups mainly based in the south, where many people practice Christian or animist religions.

The rebels' main aim has been to give southerners the right to rule themselves, and in July the government agreed to hold a referendum on southern independence following a six-and-a-half year transition.

Differences over how to share power during that transition have led to the current deadlock. According to the SPLA, mediators have proposed that a national government in the north be headed by a president from the government side, with an SPLA vice-president.

The rebels say they are happy with the arrangement, under which the president would have to consult his deputy on all decisions, but Khartoum appears to be stalling. No government delegates were available to comment.

Other points of contention were how much autonomy would be given to a regional government in southern Sudan, how much representation the south would have in the northern national government and how to share wealth.

The two sides agreed last month to cease-fire while peace talks were in progress, after heavy fighting in the south led the negotiations to break down in September. Both sides have accused the other of violating the truce.