A two-day international conference opened Monday in Oslo, Norway, to bring together for the first time representatives from the Sudanese government and three rebel groups to seek peace so that aid can flow to civiliansin Sudan's troubled western region of Darfur.

The conference, co-hosted by Norway and Italy, is designed to mobilize the international community to provide humanitarian assistance for Darfur and make preparations for the post-conflict Sudan, Norwegian Aid Minister Hilder Frafjord Johnson said after the opening of the conference.

Both the government and the rebels called on the international mediators at the conference to mount pressure on each other for peace in Darfur.

"We need action and great efforts up to the level of the crisis and the problems in Darfur," said Ahmed Hussein, head of the delegation from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). "We are asking the international community to put pressure on Sudan (to reach a peace deal)," he said.

Yahia Hussien Babiker Mohamed, head of the Sudanese government delegation, said: "We want the international community to mount pressure on the rebel groups to reach a political settlement."

He expressed optimism that a peace deal could be signed soon but added that peace needs efforts from both sides. "Hopefully we will get it shortly," he said.

The African Union-sponsored talks on Darfur in Abuja, Nigeria, broke down earlier this month, with the rebels and the government far apart on security and other key issues. The talks are expected to resume in October.

Darfur, located in west Sudan and bordering Chad, has been plagued by an 18-month conflict between two rebel forces, formed by local black tribes, and the government and Arab militiamen. Khartoum has been accused of conniving at militias' brutal attacks on villages of black Africans, a claim vehemently denied by the government.

The conflict has left thousands of people dead and many others displaced.

On Monday, Ruud Lubbers, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), pledged more international assistance for the displaced in Darfur after touring one of the tent cities that had sprung up to accommodate the refugees.

Told by some refugees of their sufferings, Lubbers promised to seek more food, better health facilities, and "some education" for the children. But he had little to offer on security.

Lubbers head already visited some of the refugee camps in Chad on the first leg of his tour last week. He was due to hold talks in Sudanese capital Khartoum on the final leg of his tour Tuesday to push his proposal with central government officials.

Sudan's Agriculture Minister Majzoub al-Khalia Ahmed said Monday his country would welcome a proposed increase in the African military force to protect African Union (AU) observers monitoring a cease-fire agreement in Darfur.

The Sudanese government had sent official messages to the AU and the United Nations giving its consent to more African troops in Darfur, the minister was quoted by a daily newspaper as saying.

The AU observers are monitoring an April cease-fire deal which both the government and the Darfur rebel groups accuse each other of violating.