The Sudanese government is expected to hold a referendum in three months' time on the administration status of the Darfur region, the Sudanese presidential adviser said upon return from Doha on Wednesday.

The region's issue should be decided by the Darfur people, Ghazi Salahuddin, also a government official in charge of the Darfur file, said at a press conference. He noted that the time frame depends on the preparations.

"We will begin working out a prospect for a law and it will be presented to the National Assembly (parliament). I think it would take three months," he said.

The most recent mediation efforts, led by Qatar, failed to convince the Sudanese government and the Darfur armed movements to sign a peace document that had been expected to be signed by the end of February.

"What is going on in the Qatari capital is not negotiation sessions but expression of viewpoints on the document which the mediation has prepared," Salahuddin said.

Many barriers are hampering the efforts of reaching a political settlement for the Darfur issue, including the post of the vice president, compensation for victims of the conflict, and whether to unify the three states in the Darfur territory into one region.