Four separatist groups on the French island of Corsica have announced an open-ended truce.

At a news conference attended by about 30 hooded armed men in southern Corsica on Thursday, the separatists said the ceasefire - halting 25 years of sporadic violence - was unconditional.

They said the National Front for the Liberation of Corsica (FLNC), and three smaller guerrilla groups had signed up to the truce.

"Following the willingness to (conduct) dialogue displayed by (French Prime Minister) Lionel Jospin, we have decided to declare an unconditional ceasefire," the groups' spokesman said.

The separatist party Corsica Nazione, considered to be the legal branch of the outlawed FLNC, called on all Corsican factions to join the process.

There was no immediate reaction from the French government.

Talks

The move followed an unprecedented meeting between the French Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, and politicians from all groups on the Mediterranean island earlier this month.

Both sides called the talks a positive step, and another meeting is to be held in Paris in February or March.

Mr Jospin had proposed to open a political dialogue with the island's politicians on various issues of concern, including the separatists' demands for more autonomy and economic reforms.

Correspondents said although previous ceasefires had been broken, the announcement suggested the separatists would give Mr Jospin's initiative a chance.

Stop the violence

The FLNC had said during the talks that it could make a "historic gesture" toward the government to show its good will.

But Mr Jospin said progress would depend on an end to violence.

On 13 December, the eve of the landmark talks, three bombs exploded at public buildings.

And guerrillas murdered France's chief representative to the island, Claude Erignac, last year.

Opinion polls regularly show a vast majority of Corsicans do not want independence from France, and nationalist groups usually achieve no more than 15% in elections.