The three main Tuareg rebel groups from Niger and the country's government have committed themselves to keep up "total and comprehensive peace in Niger" as a result of the round of talks sponsored by Libyan president Moammar al-Gaddafi, held during the last weeks. Even though it is not a formal peace agreement, it is indeed the best news since violence broke out again in 2007, as the two main actors in conflict have been involved in the commitment: the Niger government and the MNJ (Niger Movement for Justice), a rebel group that brings together most of the Tuareg Berbers struggling to defend their territories against abusive exploitation of mining and reinvest the profits from uranium extraction in their regions.

Two of the splinter groups from MNJ have also taken part in the talks, taking a stance in favour of peaceful means, too: the Niger Patriotic Front (FPN), formed last March, and the Front of Forces for Rectification (FFR), a faction which split from MNJ in May 2008. All parties, then, are conveniently committed to peace, which makes a formal peace settlement and process possible in the near future.

However, it remains to be seen which commitments each party must implement. Up to now, the government has gone from considering the Tuareg rebels as bandits and smugglers to accept them as negotiators, while the MNJ had previously released 5 Niger soldiers who had been captured as hostages.

The FPN -one of the first parties informing on the news together with Jana, the Libyan news agency- has declared in its website that "all those taking part in this mission now have the historic responsibility to overcome their differences and realize these commitments, which must now be transformed into a formal peace agreement".

According to Minority Rights Group, about a million Tuaregs live in Niger. The remaining population of Tuaregs are scattered around Mali, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso.

Further information:

• AlertNet: Niger's government, Tuareg rebels pledge peace
• Jana: Le gouvernement nigérien et les chefs des mouvements et des fronts armés au nord du Niger annoncent devant le Guide de la Révolution, président de l'Union Africaine, leur engagement entier à la paix totale et définitive au Niger
• BBC NEWS: Niger and rebels 'agree to peace'
• Nationalia: A Tuareg faction calls for peace talks with the government of Niger