Christians from different backgrounds came together to pray last night at the site of the brutal killing of two soldiers in Northern Ireland. Their message was that there must be no return to sectarian violence.

Church agencies and analysts have warned that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed four years ago to put an end to a two-decade long civil war in Sudan is threatened with breakdown.

Peace groups and religious bodies have offered a cautious welcome for a voluntary United Nations agreement on small arms that they hope will be a step towards curbing the dangerous trade in illicit weapons.

Church groups working in the Darfur region have welcomed the conclusion of the Arusha talks as a step towards greater cooperation between rebels which will pave the way for serious negotiations.

Two years after the signing of a peace agreement to end a 21-year-long civil war in Sudan, some church leaders in south Sudan are urging eventual secession for their region, saying Khartoum has failed to make unity attractive - writes Fredrick Nzwili for Ecumenical News International.