Niger rebels free 25 soldiers

2008-03-11 07:23

Niamey - Tuareg rebels in Niger released 25 soldiers who were taken hostage nine months ago in the country's troubled northern desert, said the government on Monday.

Their release came just days after Tuareg rebels in Mali, Niger's neighbour, released 22 hostages last week - the last of about 40 soldiers and government officials taken prisoner in August raids.

The hostages released on Monday were flown to Niamey, Niger's capital, on a Libyan plane, suggesting the role that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi played in the negotiation. In neighbouring Mali, the government thanked Gaddafi for "his brotherly work" in ending the crisis.

Abouba Albade, Niger's Minister of the Interior and Security, held a ceremony at the airport to welcome home the 25 hostages. He, too, thanked a foundation set up by Gaddafi for the men's release.

Gaddafi 'provides logistical support'

The Tuaregs, the light-skinned nomads that had made a home out of the Sahara desert, had long been at odds with the darker-skinned rulers of the band of countries cutting across their native sand dunes - especially in Mali and Niger.

The latest spate of hostage-takings began last year after a resurgence of hostilities between the ethnic Tuareg rebels and the government of the two countries.

Gaddafi, Libya's leader, had long been rumoured to be providing logistical support to the rebels.

Albade said that Niger "wanted to reiterate the gratitude it feels toward the Gaddafi foundation for its good work". But the minister rejected the possibility of a directly negotiating with the Niger Movement for Justice, known by its French acronym of MNJ, who grabbed the 25 hostages during a raid in June.

He said the government would only negotiate with these rebels once they put down their arms. Six hostages remained in MNJ custody.

- AP