Four Chadian rebel groups signed a peace deal with the government yesterday at talks in Libya, a Chadian official said.
"The contents are secret. An agreement should be officially signed very soon in a ceremony that will bring together heads of state in Tripoli," the official said in Chad's capital, N'Djamena.
In eastern Chad, where refugees and violence have spilled over the border from the four-year-old war in Darfur, local Chadian rebel groups have battled Chadian President Idriss Deby.
The main rebel movement's leader involved in the deal, Mahamat Nouri, was cautious about the extent of the agreement, saying "many, many, many" points remained to be thrashed out.
These included creating conditions for rebels to disarm in safety and their participation in state affairs, he said.
The talks have dragged on for weeks but have taken on greater urgency as the European Union assembles a peace force to deploy in the conflict zone in eastern Chad to help stem violence spreading from neighbouring Sudan's Darfur region.
The Irish Government has approved the deployment of a reconnaissance mission to eastern Chad, with a view to sending more than 300 Irish soldiers as part of the UN mission to protect refugees fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Darfur.