- Title: NIGER/FILE: Fears in Niger that Mali's Tuareg rebellion could cross the border
- Date: 5th March 2012
- Summary: AGADEZ, NIGER (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Tamachek) ZAHRATOU AHMED GHAISSA, WIDOW OF FORMER REBEL SAYING: "For the moment, the men are quiet. They are tired of fighting, they only want to work and feed their families." VARIOUS OF CRAFTS ON DISPLAY FOR SALE ( SOUNDBITE) (Tamachek) MARIAMA MOHA, CRAFTSWOMAN SAYING: "In order to have peace, you need two sides, the state and the rebels. The rebels cannot bring peace by themselves. It's been two years since the rebels have laid down their arms. We are tired of the war, it's now the turn of the state to find solutions to bring back peace."
- Embargoed: 20th March 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Niger
- Country: Niger
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVACWMPJJ8L10N4NQIK1UW379048
- Story Text: The ongoing Tuareg-led fighting in Northern Mali has awakened fears in neighboring Niger that its own Tuareg population may rise up in rebellion.
The conflict in Mali, which has seen rebels bolstered by fighters and weapons from Libya's conflict has killed scores of people and displaced many.
As Niger struggles to assist an influx of Malian refugees, many in the country are now worried that the massive movement of people could bring instability to the region.
Tuaregs are a nomad community of about 1.5 million people spread across Niger, Mali, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso.
Tuaregs in the Sahel region have long complained of being marginalized and treated as second class citizens by local authorities, leading to series of uprisings in the 1960's, the 1990's and 2007.
A former rebellion in northern Niger led by the Nigerien Movement for Justice (MNJ) with links to the Malian Tuaregs, wreaked havoc in northern Niger from 2007-2009.
Mohamed Anacko is a former Tuareg leader and is currently the president of the regional council of Agadez.
Anacko says that authorities should fast track the reintegration process of former rebels into the army and the government, to avoid a crisis similar to Mali, but that the spread of small arms in the Sahel region following the Libya conflict may make matters worse.
"There is a large number of weapons that have come out of Libya, and this time around, they are small and large weapons. If the international community does not intervene to confiscate these arms, it means that we will be having conflicts for centuries to come. Regardless of any peace accords that are signed, there will always be small groups, if someone is angry, he will use his weapon to solve a problem, because weapons are so readily available," he said.
European tourists have flocked to the desert in northern Niger for years but the once-steady flow of 5,000 or so has dried up since Tuareg nomads took up arms in 2007.
Tourism accounts for up to 4.3 percent of Niger's GDP, not to mention the indirect impact tourism has on Niger's artisans, who number around 600,000 and account for around 25 percent of GDP.
Communities in Agadez where a vast majority are dependant on a revival of the tourism sector say they are tired of fighting and want peace.
"For the moment, the men are quiet. They are tired of fighting, they only want to work and feed their families," said Zahratou Ahmed Ghaissa, a widow of a former rebel.
"In order to have peace, you need two sides, the state and the rebels. The rebels cannot bring peace by themselves. It's been two years since the rebels have laid down their arms. We are tired of the war, it's now the turn of the state to find solutions to bring back peace," added a crafts woman Mariama Moha.
According to local authorities, Niger has stepped up its security, with regular patrols in the north of the country, and in the month following Muammar Gaddafi's fall from Tripoli, many former fighters from Libya coming into Niger were disarmed. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None