UNITED NATIONS -- Officials of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and the Sudanese government started negotiations Monday in Khartoum on the deployment and operations of the UN-AU hybrid peacekeeping force, a UN spokesperson said Monday.

The talks will focus on the Status of Forces Agreement, which will regulate the deployment and operations of UNAMID forces and civilian personnel, said Michele Montas, the spokeswoman of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Other issues to be discussed include the final confirmation of the composition of the force and clearance to function 24 hours a day, Montas said.

Over the weekend, Salim Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson, the special envoys for Darfur of the AU and the UN, arrived in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, to meet with Sudanese government officials and rebel representatives.