Prometheus 6

I want to make special note of what the article says is the major reason peace is now possible in Africa:

This week could mark something of a turning point for Africa: in Liberia a new interim government is due to be sworn in and peace talks aimed at ending the decades old Sudanese civil war get under way in Kenya .

This comes after last week's signing of a peace pact between the government and rebels in Burundi.

Does this mean that Africa - wracked by years of international strife and civil war - can finally look forward to peace?Africa's wars earned the continent a terrible reputation. International business mostly gave Africa a wide berth.

Television screens filled with images of conflict, chaos and destitution did not encourage much confidence.

Active wars

But is this increasingly an outdated perspective? African analysts like Richard Dowden point out that 10 years ago the continent had 15 or 16 active wars.

"Most of Africa, right from the north-east tip right up in Somalia, right down across the whole of the continent to Namibia in the south, was involved in these chaotic wars," he says.

"Now, in terms of live wars, you can only pick three or four countries where there is active fighting going on."

The evidence to back this claim looks strong. Take Angola, which descended into war in the 1960s.

The death of the rebel leader, Jonas Savimbi in February 2002 opened the way for a peace agreement - elections are in the offing and tens of thousands of refugees have streamed back home.

In Sierra Leone, British troops intervened to end a vicious civil war and the country is now largely at peace.

And the Democratic Republic of Congo, which drew most of its neighbours into its conflicts in 1998, is now at peace with a newly installed government.

'Lull'

Not that all Africa's troubles are over - the gun still rules parts of Uganda, Ivory Coast and Algeria.

There is also a feeling that countries whose wars have subsided may drift back into fighting.

"There is a danger that we may just have a lull in the fighting - partly because of the exhaustion of the warring parties and partly because international attention flags as media attention drains away," says Mr Dowden.

"If international attention diminishes, the diplomatic effort that goes into peacemaking may come to an end and the promises of aid and reconstruction don't get delivered".

Regional superpower

But there is no doubt that many long-running wars have been ended. The reason?

The end of the cold war meant that the Soviets and the Americans no longer backed rival African movements as a way of undermining each other.

The United Nations has also become far more actively involved - its peacekeeping troops are now in Sierra Leone, Liberia, DR Congo and along the Ethiopia - Eritrea border.

And South Africa has emerged as a regional superpower - using its diplomatic strength and its troops to end conflicts.

It is still far too early to declare the continent's wars at an end. But for once there seems more light than darkness on the African scene.