Already, several people are optimistic and one of them is U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, not long back from a meeting with Sudan's President Omar Al-Bashir on the margins of the League of Arab States summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last month.

His chief topic of discussion then as now in continuing contacts is getting Bashir to accept the U.N. Security Council mandate for a 20,000 strong U.N. peacekeeping force in Darfur to replace the overextended and exhausted African Union force of 7,000 troops.

The script calls for a "hybrid force" of AU and U.N. peacekeepers, one of the many plans Bashir balked at but which now apparently has finally been approved after much negotiation.

Now, Ban says he is optimistic, despite yet another sticking point.

"One always needs to have a bit of hope, based on optimism," he told reporters at U.N. World Headquarters in New York Thursday. "I was encouraged by recent developments, progress in our discussions with the Sudanese Government. That was part of our agreement, between myself and President Al-Bashir, particularly under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian King (Abdallah), we have been able to agree on most of the issues, except one issue."

That solitary point is the use of helicopter gun ships.

"There seems to be some misunderstandings on the part of the Sudanese government on this equipment," he told reporters. "This (the gun ships) is not for any offensive purpose. This ... is itself by definition a peacekeeping operation -- it is not for any offensive. But when you deploy troops you need to have mobility with some capacity of deterrence.

"This is just standard equipment about which they should have no concern," Ban said. "The force commander will be an African general, and the deputy force commander will also be an African general. This force structure mainly will be operated by African commanders. Therefore, I hope there should be no such concern. We will continue to alleviate such concerns."

Bashir has expressed concern a U.N. peacekeeping force could result in "recolonialization."

Also optimistic is China's Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun who visited Sudan April 6-9 and Wednesday told reporters in Beijing he met with Bashir and visited northern and southern Darfur.

Beijing and Khartoum have been allies. China buys most of Sudan's oil and Sudan buys commodities, including weapons, from China.

Zhia, who endorsed the peacekeeping plan, was believed to have delivered to Khartoum a stern message from Beijing it better get on board the U.N. peacekeeping plan.

"I hope the Sudanese government shows further flexibility towards the plan and it will help the international community to address the concerns of the Sudanese side on the 'track' of political process," he said.

"My general impression is that the current situation in Darfur is basically stable, the local government runs normally, the refugee camps are well managed with sound health conditions and the basic living of refugees is guaranteed," he said.

Andrew Natsios, U.S. President George W. Bush's special envoy to Sudan, told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday, "There are some small signs of hope and progress. Credible reports from Darfur indicate that there has been a slow, steady decrease in civilian casualties since January 2007 and direct fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and non-signatory rebel groups has virtually ceased in the past months."

He told the panel several regional powers have also begun to play a positive role.

"These types of constructive efforts are welcome and we encourage Libya and other regional powers to work closely with the United Nations and AU on these initiatives," he said. "Perhaps most heartening, groups inside Darfur are beginning to push back against the terrible violence they have seen over the past four years."

Natsios said the leader of an Arab tribe in South Darfur has remained neutral despite attempts to draw him in and in other parts of Darfur.

"There are indications Arab and African tribes are trying to rebuild cooperation, with a few scattered reports of groups returning looted livestock to the original owners and beginning to meet and trade in traditional markets," he added. "We will continue to watch the security situation very closely. If the government and rebel groups continue to exercise restraint between now and the end of the rainy season, there will have been a full 20 weeks of relative quiet."

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