Kidnapped Areva Officials Still Missing in Niger, Africa 1 year later

NIAMEY — Four Frenchmen held by Al Qaeda's North African franchise on Friday marked a year since their capture, with negotiations for their release complicated by the fallout of the Libyan chaos.

On September 16 last year, seven people were snatched by the radical group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Arlit, a uranium mining town in northern Niger.

Amomg them was a senior employee with the French mining group Areva and his wife. The other five, employed by an Areva subcontractor, included three Frenchmen as well as a Togolese and a Malagasy.

On February 24, the woman and the two Africans were released at a desert spot close to where the borders of Niger, Mali and Algeria meet.

However Daniel Larribe, Thierry Dole, Marc Feret and Pierre Legrand are still being held by AQIM and their families are demanding more tangible efforts to secure their release.

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, whose country is also affected by the activities of the Al Qaeda-affiliated group, said earlier this week he thought the hostages were still alive.

"All state agencies have been mobilised since the very first day and are doing everything they can for our compatriots to recover their freedom," the French foreign ministry said Thursday.

"We're in contact with the kidnappers, physically, by phone and through intermediaries," one mediator told AFP recently.

Some sources even predict the hostages could be freed soon.

AQIM does not appear to have modified its demands since it released a video of the hostages "begging" Nicolas Sarkozy to pull his troops out of Afghanistan, something the French president promptly ruled out.

However, France has since announced its intention to withdraw around a quarter of its forces by the end of 2012, a decision believed to have been welcomed by AQIM.

Another of the hostage-takers' demands is the payment of a staggering 90 million euros (125 million dollars), which Paris has also officially rejected.

The situation is fluid in Niger, where two other French nationals were kidnapped in the capital Niamey earlier this year before being executed in Mali.

Areva's expatriate contingent, which had been sent home after last year's kidnapping, however returned to Arlit in July after France and Niger agreed to beef up security.

The new element affecting regional security is the change of regime in Libya, where Western-backed rebels toppled Moamer Kadhafi.

Neighbouring countries and security experts have expressed fears that chaos in Libya would scatter Kadhafi's arsenal across the region and eventually give AQIM access to new and more sophisticated weapons.

"We used to focus mainly on AQIM, now we have to watch everything at the same time," a Nigerien army officer stationed in the north explained.

The Rest @ AFP

AQIM Takes 7 Areva Employees Hostage

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to mobilise all state services to ensure the release of seven foreigners – including five French nationals – kidnapped last week in Niger. French officials say they believe the hostages are alive.

A day after al Qaeda’s North African branch released an audio-taped statement claiming the kidnapping of seven foreigners – including five French nationals – in Niger; a French foreign ministry official said France had “good reason” to believe the hostages were alive.

Speaking to reporters in Paris Wednesday, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal said France had “not received proof of life, but we have good reason to believe that the hostages are alive."

By FRANCE 24The seven hostages - employees of the French nuclear group Areva and construction firm Vinci - were kidnapped last week in Arlit, a mining town in uranium rich northern Niger.

Nadal also said a message by al Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM) claiming the kidnapping was authentic.

The audio tape was broadcast Tuesday on the Arabic TV channel Al Jazeera.
In the message, AQIM spokesman Salah Abi Mohammed warned France against “any sort of stupidity,” presumably referring to a military operation to try to rescue the hostages.
The statement also reported that the kidnapping was led by Abdelhamid Abu Zeid, an Algerian national accused of killing a British hostage last year and 78-year-old Frenchman Michel Germaneau in July.

As the hunt for the hostages entered its sixth day, a spokesman for French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France will mobilise all the services of the state to ensure their release.
France has been on a state of heightened alert since last week following an escalation of threats by AQIM against France and French nationals.

French special forces arrive in Niger

Earlier Wednesday, French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said AQIM’s claim came as no surprise to French intelligence and security services.
"We suspected AQIM was involved. What was previously an assumption is now a confirmation," he said.
Hortefeux was speaking to reporters shortly after arriving in the Malian capital of Bamako early Wednesday, where he is attending the celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of the West African nation’s independence from France. But his visit has been overshadowed by the kidnappings in neighbouring Niger.

FRANCE 24
C. Casali reports from Niamey. Reporting from Niamey, the capital of Niger, FRANCE 24’s Clovis Casali said 80 French special forces troops had arrived in Niamey earlier this week to try to locate the hostages.

“The Niger government spokesperson has highlighted that these men are a support force, they’re not leading the operations,” said Casali. The French troops were conducting aerial reconnaissance flights using planes – including Mirages – equipped with cameras and systems to intercept satellite phone conversations, said Casali.


Seeking US and international help

Speaking on the fringes of a UN summit in New York late Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the focus now would be to “continue - the French, our allies, the countries of the Sahel and Europe I hope ...to put all the means at our disposal for their liberation.”

The Sahel refers to the punishing transition terrain in northern Africa between the Sahara to the north and the savannah to the south.

French officials believe the seven hostages and their captors have crossed the Niger-Mali border and are probably in Malian territory.

France has sought US help to track the hostages, according to an AFP report citing two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The officials declined to offer any details about the US military's support for French forces. But analysts believe the assistance could include imagery from spy satellites or unmanned aircraft.
Algerian national led attack

Thursday’s kidnappings are the latest in a string of attacks in the Sahel that have been claimed by AQIM, which until now had not staged any operations in the part of Niger where the five French nationals were abducted.

AQIM has made increasing threats against France and its citizens since France conducted a deadly Sahara raid in a bid to rescue Germaneau.

AQIM was born out of a radical Algerian Islamist group that fought a bloody battle against the Algerian government in the 1990s. The remnants of the Algerian group, known as the GSPC in France (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat) officially announced that it had joined forces with al Qaeda in 2006 to become the global terror group’s North African branch.

In recent months, AQIM has increased its activities across the region spanning Niger, Mali and Mauritania.

Areva acknowledges receiving warning letter from Niger officials

French nuclear giant Areva on Tuesday said in a statement that the company was doing everything it could to assist the Niger and French authorities in tracking down its employees.
On Tuesday left-leaning French daily Le Monde published a letter dated September 1 sent by the Niger authorities to Areva warning of the risk of kidnappings in the area.

"In these difficult conditions, you will understand the threat from AQIM is to be taken seriously," the letter said.

Areva officials have confirmed that the company received a letter from an official in Niger on September 1 warning the company of intelligence about a plot to kidnap foreigners.

In a statement released later Tuesday, Areva said the letter was part of its regular contacts with Niger officials, and that the company's deputy for security had visited the region in early September to meet with Niger officials, who offered “no particular information'' about the threat.

The Rest @ FRANCE 24

Niger and Mali Rebels Coordinate Attacks

More evidence that al Aqeda is involved.

-Shimron


BAMAKO, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Suspected Tuareg gunmen seized a military supply convoy in northern Mali taking 23 soldiers hostage, the latest sign of a concerted campaign with Tuareg rebels in neighbouring Niger, military sources said on Tuesday.

In the second attack in two days, a group of heavily armed men in Toyota pick-ups ambushed the convoy on Monday some 50 km (31 miles) from the town of Tinsawatene in Mali's desolate northern reaches near the border with Algeria.

After a gunbattle lasting several hours, the attackers captured a Toyota pick up, a lorry containing supplies, and large quantities of munitions. Six soldiers were able to escape.
"We're in shock. It was a heavy toll," said a senior Defence Ministry source. "Now it's a man hunt. We will spare no effort to find these men."

Military sources said several attackers were killed in the gunfight. It came a day after suspected Tuareg rebels captured 15 Malian soldiers in a remote Saharan town and carried them off toward Niger, where nomadic tribesmen are waging a seven-month old uprising.

The mountainous area where Sunday's abductions took place is regarded as a stronghold of Tuareg leader Ibrahima Bahanga, whom Malian authorities accuse of killing a gendarme in an attack in May backed by rebels from the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ).

"We are obliged to work closely with Niger because we believe there are links between the two groups," said the senior defence source.

"When they launch attacks in Niger they seek refuge in Mali, and when they attack in Mali they hide in Niger."

"There are contacts under way between military authorities in Mali and Niger to secure the area," the source added.

REGIONAL EFFORTS

Last week, Mali and Niger's security ministers met in the eastern Malian town of Gao and signed a deal allowing each others' security forces to pursue suspected bandits across their common border.

Bahanga, one of the leaders of a Tuareg revolt in the 1990s which won greater autonomy for the light-skinned tribesmen in Mali and Niger, has been disowned by a broader Malian rebel alliance, which signed a deal with President Amadou Toumani Toure in July 2006.

Toure, during a weekend visit to Tripoli, said he had agreed with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to hold a regional summit on security in the Sahel.

Niger President Mamadou Tandja has also appealed for regional support in quelling the uprising, which his government has accused French nuclear power company Areva and "rich foreign powers" of supporting.

The company has strongly denied this.

Niger's government said on Tuesday it had demined and reopened the road between the northern uranium mining hub of Arlit and the oasis town of Iferouane, which lies more than 1,000 km (600 miles) from the capital Niamey and has been isolated for more than two months.

A military convoy was able to deliver 60 tonnes of emergency food aid to the settlement, which lies in the heart of the rebel zone and was the scene of its first attack in February.

(Additional reporting by Abdoulaye Massalatchi in Niamey)

The Rest @ Reuters

MNJ Claims to hold 4 AREVA Executives at Bases Attacked by Helecopter Gunship

On the their website Yesterday, Tuesday, 23/6, The MNJ claims to have been attacked.

The MNJ claims that it holds Four (4) AREVA executives, and that recent attacks by government gunships put them at risk, along with other prisoners of war.

This is possible, but could be simply a ploy to stop attacks that appear to have unnerved them.

-Shimron

English Transation (via google) from French

Niger has granted 7 More companies Uranium Exploration Rights

NIAMEY - Niger has granted seven more exploration licences of uranium to seven foreign companies, in the Agadez region (north), theatre for a year of a Tuareg rebel army, it was learned Saturday.

The authorities estimate that 32 million in investment and tax revenues that should generate work for three years.

Some 500 jobs and community infrastructure will also be created for the benefit of local people, the statement added.

Thanks to the recent rise in price of uranium, which had collapsed in 1980, especially in the wake of the decision of China to develop civil nuclear power, the Nigerian authorities have decided to diversify their partners in the 'mining of ore.

Thus, in August 2007, Niger had already issued 29 permits research and exploitation of uranium to new companies, ending 40 years of near monopoly of the french group Areva on the exploration, exploitation and sale of its uranium.

In addition to the two deposits that operates in the North, Areva btained permission in January to invest more than 1 billion euros to operate a giant site Imouraren extraction.

With production of almost 5,000 tons of uranium per year, Imouraren, estimated at 200,000 tons, will place the Niger second in the world by 2011.

The Rest (in French) @ APA Agence de Presse Africaine

M-N-J (MNJ) Promises to Step up attacks in Niger

The following article was posted in France by a media outlet that has been accused byt the Niger government of having direct connections to the NMJ leadership. Possible conclusion from the article and other related traffic:

• The MNJ has been a nationalist rebel group, generally without Islamist objectives
• Islamist Jihadists often practice a perceived quranic and Hadith requirement to warn their enemies to repent before they attack.
• In the last year before other attacks, MNJ has initatied this practice
• This warning was released 12 days ago
• therefore attaks on Areva and other Uranium interests in Niger may be iminent

-Shimron


Paris - Niger's Tuareg rebels will attack uranium mines and convoys in a new phase of their battle against the industry, a leading figure in the rebellion warned in an interview published on Thursday.

The Tuareg Movement of Nigeriens for Justice (MNJ) can mobilise up to 1 000 fighters under military chief Aghali Alambo, the leader of the rebellion Rhissa Ag Boula told French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur.

"We are going to attack the uranium mines, including those of (French nuclear giant) Areva, to stop factories functioning, prevent the exploitation of new quarries, and seize the cargo that is en route to the sea," he said.

"You can't exploit uranium without us," he warned.

Poor and restive Niger finds itself sitting on a surprising treasure trove of uranium. The west African state on the edge of the Sahara is the world's third largest producer of an element whose price has soared.

Areva is Niger's top private employer and has operated two uranium mines in the country for the past 40 years.

The stakes are particularly high for former colonial power France: three-quarters of the nuclear-powered electricity produced by its main electricity company EDF uses uranium imported from Niger.

In April last year, MNJ rebels attacked Areva's biggest uranium project in Niger, demanding better application of the economic aspects of the 1995 peace agreements that ended the first Tuareg rebellion.

The MNJ says peace will not return to the north of Niger without better integration of Tuaregs into the army, paramilitary corps and the local mining sector. Since February 2007 it has carried out attacks on military targets in the area.

Rhissa Ag Boula said this new phase of the Tuareg rebellion would soon see the rebels occupy a dozen urban centres in the uranium-rich north, such as Agadez, Arlit, Iferouane, and In Gall.
"There will be legislative and presidential elections in 2009. This will all happen before then," he said.

President Mamadou Tandja, who refuses to negotiate with the MNJ, in November extended by three months a state of emergency that has reinforced the army's powers in the conflict zone.
The Tuaregs are a grouping of nomadic tribes who have roamed the Sahara since centuries before the countries of the region gained independence from colonial powers.

The Rest @ News 24

MNJ Threaten's to escalate attacks on Uranium Mines

NIAMEY, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A leader of Niger's Tuareg rebels promised on Thursday an all-out offensive against the uranium industry including attacks on foreign-run mines and mineral convoys.

Over the last 12 months, the Niger Justice Movement (MNJ) has attacked army convoys and bases, killing around 50 soldiers. This has forced Niger's government to impose a state of alert in the north of the Sahelian country, a major producer of uranium which is used to fuel nuclear reactors.

"We are going to attack the uranium mines, including those belonging to Areva, halt the operation of the plants or the opening up of new sites, and target the road shipments to the sea," Tuareg leader Rhissa Ag Boula told French newspaper Le Nouvel Observateur.

Last year MNJ fighters attacked a northern mine site operated by French nuclear group Areva and also briefly abducted a Chinese uranium executive.

The rebels are demanding more autonomy and a greater share of wealth in their uranium-rich northern region.

A Niger government spokesman rejected the threat in comments to Radio France International. President Mamadou Tandja's administration refuses to recognise the light-skinned nomadic desert rebels, dismissing them as "armed bandits".

Ag Boula criticised the Niger government for "handing out uranium concessions like buns" to companies from France, Canada, Australia, India, South Africa and China.

China had obtained a major part of the new concessions and the Chinese "build mining cities, bringing their own workers with them".

China was selling landmines, vehicles and tanks to the Niger government, Ag Boula said in the interview.

The Rest @ Reuters Africa

MNJ Threaten's to escalate attacks on Uranium Mines

NIAMEY, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A leader of Niger's Tuareg rebels promised on Thursday an all-out offensive against the uranium industry including attacks on foreign-run mines and mineral convoys.

Over the last 12 months, the Niger Justice Movement (MNJ) has attacked army convoys and bases, killing around 50 soldiers. This has forced Niger's government to impose a state of alert in the north of the Sahelian country, a major producer of uranium which is used to fuel nuclear reactors.

"We are going to attack the uranium mines, including those belonging to Areva, halt the operation of the plants or the opening up of new sites, and target the road shipments to the sea," Tuareg leader Rhissa Ag Boula told French newspaper Le Nouvel Observateur.

Last year MNJ fighters attacked a northern mine site operated by French nuclear group Areva and also briefly abducted a Chinese uranium executive.

The rebels are demanding more autonomy and a greater share of wealth in their uranium-rich northern region.

A Niger government spokesman rejected the threat in comments to Radio France International. President Mamadou Tandja's administration refuses to recognise the light-skinned nomadic desert rebels, dismissing them as "armed bandits".

Ag Boula criticised the Niger government for "handing out uranium concessions like buns" to companies from France, Canada, Australia, India, South Africa and China.

China had obtained a major part of the new concessions and the Chinese "build mining cities, bringing their own workers with them".

China was selling landmines, vehicles and tanks to the Niger government, Ag Boula said in the interview.

The Rest @ Reuters Africa

Le Mouvement des Nigeriens pour la Justice (MNJ), Threatens Areva's Uranium Mining Operation

NIAMEY, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Tuareg-led rebels in Niger accused French uranium miner Areva on Monday of financing a government offensive and warned of "grave consequences" for its staff and installations.

The French government-controlled company has been caught in the middle of a rebellion launched in February by nomadic tribesmen in the Saharan north of Niger where it mines uranium.

Areva was not immediately available for comment on Monday.

In July Niger's government barred the head of Areva's operations in Niger from the country, accusing the company of backing rebels. French President Nicolas Sarkozy intervened to calm the dispute and shortly afterwards Areva made an advance payment of more than $30 million to the Niger government.

But in a posting on its Web site www.m-n-j.blogspot.com on Monday, the rebel Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ) accused Areva of helping fund the government's war effort and of failing to hire enough local people from the desert regions where it operates.

"We inform Areva that from now on all its operations are regarded as illegal," the group said, adding that Areva "is exposing its staff as well as its installations to grave consequences."
It said that by continuing to sign deals with the Niger government, Areva was contributing financial means which "contribute to the war effort".

The Rest @ Reuters Africa

Areva Aquires Central African Republic Uranium Mine

Mon 22 Oct 2007, 15:09 GMT

By Paul-Marin Ngoupana

BANGUI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - A uranium mine in Central African Republic was acquired by France's Areva group without the consent of the CAR government, which is seeking a negotiated settlement with the company, President Francois Bozize said.

In an interview published on Sunday in the latest edition of Jeune Afrique magazine, Bozize said his country would take the matter to the courts if it did not reach an agreement with the French nuclear technology giant over the Bakouma mine.

In July, Areva, a French state-owned group whose activities range from uranium mining to nuclear reactors and waste recycling, said it had taken control of Canadian-listed miner UraMin whose assets included an exploration contract for Bakouma.

But the Central African Republic is contesting Areva's takeover of the Bakouma contract as "irregular", arguing the terms of the deal previously signed with UraMin required the CAR government's consent for any change.

"Areva went on to acquire UraMin without our consent. So that's where the blockage is," Bozize told Jeune Afrique.

"It's out of the question for our national patrimony to be bandied about in a game between capitalists on the London Stock Exchange. This is beyond the comprehension of the people of Central African Republic," he added.

Bozize indicated his country expected Areva to offer improved terms or some kind of additional payment for taking over the Bakouma contract.

"Well, we're negotiating with Areva ... if that doesn't reach a conclusion, we'll look to our lawyers, but I don't think that is in the group's interests," he told Jeune Afrique.

Bozize said other African countries like Niger and Namibia had obtained newly negotiated deals from the French company, which has said that deposits identified by UraMin in South Africa, Namibia and the Central African Republic will increase Areva's uranium output by around 7,000 tons annually after 2012.

Fresh comment from Areva on Monday was not immediately available.

The Rest @ Reuters Africa

Exelon buys 300 Tonnes from Niger

NIAMEY, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Niger has sold 300 tonnes of uranium to U.S. nuclear power group Exelon Corp for at least 20 billion CFA francs ($41.71 million) in its first direct sale to the market, Mines Minister Mohamed Abdoulahi said.

The sale, announced on state television late on Monday, is the first to bypass French state-controlled nuclear group Areva , which agreed a few weeks ago to give Niger 300 tonnes of uranium in 2007 to sell on the open market.

Areva operates both Niger's existing uranium mines, located in the Saharan north, and the company has to date exported the entire production, paying the government a fixed royalty per tonne.

Areva's 36-year-old monopoly has been under pressure from the Niger government, which has accused Areva of backing Tuareg-led rebels and banned the company's top in-country official from its territory as it continues to hand out prospecting licences to mining companies from other countries.

Niger produced around 3,500 tonnes of uranium concentrate -- known as yellow cake in the trade, and containing around 75 percent uranium metal -- in 2006, but the mines ministry expects output to double in the next four years as two new mines open.

The Rest @ Reuters Africa

Eritrea the Head Quarters and resupply Point for the Shabab

Eritrea sending missiles, arms to Somalia, UN says

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Hugh quantities of arms are reaching Islamic insurgents in Somalia such as surface-to-air missiles from Eritrea, according to a U.N. monitoring group on consistent violations of an arms embargo.

Their recent report to the U.N. Security Council, published by the United Nations, says Somalia is awash with more arms than at any time since the early 1990s when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown and the northeast African country was thrown into anarchy.

Most weapons have been brought into Somalia via clandestine routes and many have reached the Shabab, the fighting wing of the militant Islamic Courts Union.

"Huge quantities of arms have been provided to the Shabab by and through Eritrea," the report said, adding the Islamists had "an unknown number of surface-to-air missiles, suicide belts and explosive with timers and detonators."

Eritrea has denied sending the weapons, particularly the surface-to-air missiles. But the report showed pictures from a video of the fighters carrying SA-18 missiles, which were used against a Belarus aircraft that had made an emergency landing in Mogadishu, the capital.

The monitoring group in April also showed a Security Council sanctions committee, headed by South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, a video of the actual firing of the missile, which it said was part of a consignment of six SA-18s that had been delivered by Eritrea.

Eritrea is the archrival of Ethiopia, and diplomats say the two have been waging a proxy war in Somalia since last year when Asmara backed a hard-line Islamist movement against the country's fragile government. Ethiopia sent in troops to support the government and dislodge the Islamists from Mogadishu.

NUMEROUS FLIGHTS
The monitoring group said a chartered Boeing 707 cargo plane, owned by Aerogem Aviation Ltd, based in Ghana, had made at least 13 trips from Asmara to Mogadishu, sometimes filing false flight plans.

But the flights were confirmed by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the report said.

A letter in the report by Eritrea's U.N. ambassador, Araya Desta, said the accusations were "fabricated" and part of a "subtle disinformation campaign" to cover up Ethiopian "adventurism."

Ethiopia is also not exempt from the arms embargo, even though the United Nations and the African Union support the government.

Only Uganda is exempt because its military operates under an AU flag.
Ethiopia, in its letter, said its weapons were legal because it "has been involved in Somalia at the invitation of the legitimate and international recognized Transitional Federal Government."

The United States, which believes the Islamists have close ties to al-Qaeda, conducted two air strikes in January. The monitoring group said it received information that on June 2, the U.S. Navy fired several times at suspected Al-Qaeda operatives near the coastal village of Bargal.

Asked about arms embargo violations, Zalmay Khalizad, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in a letter that attacks against Al Qaeda were in self-defense in response to ongoing threats to the United States.

He said that the U.S. action against "known terrorist targets" did not constitute delivery of weapons to Somalia.

Despite defeats by the Ethiopians, Shabab, which attacks Ethiopian and government troops regularly, has hidden weapons caches for future use and has scattered their fighters, the report said.

Other weapons have found their way through arms dealers operating in a large arms market in Mogadishu, which sells to warlords scattered in central and southern Somalia and "is doing a brisk and lucrative business in arms sales."

Reuters