The withdrawal of Nigerian peacekeeping soldiers from Sierra Leone, which had threatened to leave a serious security gap, has been halted.

A spokesman for the Nigerian troops, who have been working with the United Nations Blue Helmets to police a peace agreement, said those soldiers still in Sierra Leone would now remain.

The fragile peace agreement is designed to end one of Africa's most brutal wars, which has seen widespread atrocities and the displacement of around 2m people.

Huge relief

The halting of the withdrawal of the Nigerians will come as a huge relief to the people of Sierra Leone and to the United Nations.

The UN does not have enough troops here to maintain the peace agreement and the Nigerians have unique experience and muscle to try and make it work.

More than one third of the some 10,000 Nigerian soldiers that were stationed here have already pulled out, but the rest will now stay on.

The West African soldiers have been protecting the elected Sierra Leone government side against rebel attacks for several years and are now working with all former combatants to build the peace.

Instability

It is still unclear how in practise the UN and the Nigerians will co-ordinate.

In recent months, there has been considerable confusion, both about how many UN troops will come here and about Nigeria's intentions.

The threatened total withdrawal of the West African troops had created a climate of instability in a country where there are still thousands of armed rebels on the ground.

The announcement that the Nigerians will now stay on should improve the prospects for the peace agreement working.