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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Rebel group wages war in demand for uranium cash |
| 2007-08-23 |
| As the west African country of Niger prepares for the uranium mineral-rush its leaders hope will lift the nation out of dire poverty, Tuareg-led rebels are waging a guerrilla war to demand a larger share of reserves, believed to be the among the largest in the world. In the latest round of fighting, the rebel group this week killed 17 government soldiers in the remote north, where uranium is mined. It has killed at least 44 troops since February. The Niger Movement for Justice launched its uprising in the desert wastes of the Sahara, which stretches across northern Niger, to demand a better deal for the Tuareg nomads. The majority of Niger's 12 million people are black African Hausas, who dominate the economy and politics and live in the south, near the Niger River, away from the uranium riches. The people of landlocked Niger are, despite the uranium reserves, among the poorest on earth: Niger is bottom of the United Nations Human Development Index. The light-skinned Tuaregs number about two million. Historically, they raided the south and captured Hausas as slaves. In 1998, the Tuareg were promised greater autonomy by the Niamey-based government in southern Niger, but all promises have since been broken, fuelling Tuareg anger as the south has profited from the uranium mines. Uranium comprises more than 70 per cent of the country's exports. The government of the former French colony has awarded prospecting permits to companies from the UK, China, India, Canada, Russia, Australia, South Africa and France, and has repeatedly claimed it is in control of the region. To date a total of 89 uranium licences have been handed out by President Mamadou Tandja's government since it started to open up the reserves to foreign competition. Mining had been dominated by French nuclear reactor maker and utility Areva, but the government has diversified prospecting permits in an attempt to break France's semi-colonial control of the trade. The rebel MNJ said a large convoy of military vehicles had advanced towards the town of Iferouane on Monday, prompting Tuesday's encounter. "There was a clash, and 17 of them were killed and six vehicles destroyed," the rebels said in a statement. Government officials in Niamey admitted one soldier was killed in a four-hour battle. Iferouane is a small oasis town of about 5,000 people more than 620 miles north of Niamey. But Tuareg grazing grounds around it have been disturbed by modern roads driven through to get at the uranium reserves. President Mamadou's government dismisses the group as bandits and drug traffickers and has accused Libya and Areva of backing the revolt. Areva has since increased the royalties it pays to Niamey for the uranium it mines in the north. The government last weekend accused unidentified "rich foreign powers" of paying mercenaries to lay mines in the region. A mine explosion killed four military police officers and seriously wounded three more on Monday near the ancient Saharan trading town of Agadez, the government said. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #1 There is not Uranium in Niger. Just ask Joe Wilson. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-08-23 09:23 |