Kadhafi secures release of Niger security forces.
Posted on 14. Mar, 2009 by Admin in Libya News
Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi negotiated the release of five Niger soldiers and a gendarme who had been held by Tuareg rebels, Niger state radio reported Friday.Most of the six hostages had been held since June 2007 by the Movement of Niger People for Justice (MNJ).Kadhafi acted as mediator in talks with the Tuareg rebels and flew to Niamey on Thursday with the six men, Voix du Sahel radio reported.The Libyan leader was met at Niamey airport on Thursday night by President Mamadou Tandja who thanked Kadhafi very sincerely for his efforts to obtain the release.Government spokesman and Communications Minister Mohamed Ben Omar said one army officer remains in the hands of the rebels.Twelve months ago, the MNJ released 24 soldiers and a regional government official after Libyan mediation. The Republicain independent weekly said Niger's president asked Kadhafi to interene.The MNJ is a splinter faction from Niger's main Tuareg groups, which signed a 1995 agreement with the government to end a first rebellion.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.{AFP}