AFP - 03/05/09
Niger
Niger President Mamadou Tandja arrived Sunday in the symbolic Tuareg town of Agadez for his first-ever peace talks with rebel leaders who were flown in by mediators Libya, a government source said.
Niger’s north is rich in uranium and Tandja — making his first trip there since the start of the latest Tuareg rebellion in 2007 — is also due Monday to officiate at the start of construction work on a giant uranium mine in development with French nuclear giants Areva.
Tandja was to hold talks with a 16-member delegation representing three main Tuareg rebel groups, although not the leader of the main Movement of Niger People for Justice (MNJ), Aghali Alambo, the source added.
Tuareg rebels and a delegation from Niger’s government told Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi during talks in Tripoli last month that they are committed to achieving peace in the west African semi-desert state.
Alambo affirmed the "commitment of his group and other groups for a definitive peace in Niger," reports said.
Kadhafi, current African Union chairman, was reported as saying he would remain engaged with the Niger discussions until peace was achieved there.
On a visit to Niamey in March, Kadhafi negotiated the release of five Niger soldiers and a gendarme who had been held by the MNJ.
The Tuaregs are nomadic tribes who roamed the Sahara for centuries before nations of the region gained independence from European colonial powers.
The MNJ wants a share in Niger’s uranium wealth and a role in the country’s armed forces.
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