Libya repatriates hundreds of rebels to Niger
AUTHORITIES in Libya have begun repatriating hundreds of Nigerien Tuareg rebel fighters, the latest sign of progress in pacifying Niger's north after two years of revolt.
The fighters, who are from an MNJ faction of Niger's Tuareg rebels who launched an uprising in 2007, had laid down their weapons in Libya, a country that they used as a base but also acted as mediator to end the conflict in the uranium miner.
Over the last 48 hours, 386 rebels have been flown back to the town of Agadez, in Niger's north, the television reported.
"We are happy to see that these young men who took up arms have returned home to take part in building their country," Reuters yesterday quoted Abba Malam Boukar, the governor of the Agadez region, which is home to most of the uranium and was central to the violence, as saying.
The rebels launched their uprising calling for more representation for the nomadic Tuareg people and a greater share of the minerals mined in Niger's north, where they live.
Tuaregs in neighbouring Mali have also been fighting their government over the last few years. Both rebellions can be traced back to failures to end similar uprisings in the two countries in the 1990s.
Having intially dismissed the rebels as bandits and smugglers, Niger's President Mamadou Tandja earlier this year accepted Libyan help in ending the conflict and has agreed to amnesty for all rebels who disarm.
Two rebel factions have agreed to disarm while a third, the FFR led by Rhissa Ag Boula, has said it wants to join the peace process but is not yet ready to lay down its weapons.
The violence in Niger's north closed down the tourism industry and threatened mining operations.
French nuclear giant, Areva, plans to open a 1.2 billion euro uranium mine in Niger, making the desert state a leading global uranium exporter.
Libya on Tuesday signed an agreement with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to join forces to crack down on organised crime in the Maghreb region.
UNODC executive director Antonio Maria Costa said the agency would open an office in Tripoli aimed at providing technical support to help fight organised crime, drugs and human trafficking, corruption and money laundering.
The United Nations would also help Maghreb countries in North Africa - Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia - to modernise their criminal justice system and help rehabilitate drug addicts, he said.
Libya is a key transit route for drugs that come mainly from Egypt, Morocco and Turkey, and the authorities in Tripoli report huge hauls each week, mainly of hashish and heroin.
Meanwhile, the wife of one of two Swiss businessmen prevented from leaving Libya for 16 months has appealed to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to allow the pair to return home on humanitarian grounds.
Bruna Hamdani's husband, Rachid, has been held in Tripoli since July 2008, following the arrest in Geneva of Gaddafi's son, Hannibal, and his wife for allegedly mistreating two domestic employees. The charges were later dropped.
Libya cut oil supplies to Switzerland and withdrew more than $5 billion in assets from Swiss banks after the arrests. Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz apologised in August and has come under pressure to resign for failing to win the men's release.
Bruna Hamdani, in an interview on Swiss television on Wednesday night, said the men expected to face charges of visa irregularities.
"I am ready to launch an appeal to the Gaddafi family ... I really appeal to their wisdom and capacity to pardon so that they return my husband," she said.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry has called for the release of Rachid Hamdani, who works for a construction company, and Max Goeldi, Libya head of the Swiss-Swedish electrical engineering conglomerate ABB. It refers to them as kidnapped.
The pair, who had been living in the Swiss embassy since they were banned from leaving Libya, were detained in mid-September after leaving the embassy for a medical check-up.
They were held in isolation in a villa for 52 days, Bruna Hamdani said. Libyan officials brought them back to the embassy without explanation on Monday.
"They couldn't speak to one another, it was impossible, they were under 24-hour surveillance. They were not mistreated physically and were give their medications. But psychologically it was simply torture," she said.
