Niger rebels attack town, abduct senior officials

NIAMEY - Suspected Tuareg rebels in Niger killed three people and abducted seven others, including the local prefect, in a raid on the town of Tanout, the local governor said on Tuesday.

Yahaya Yandaka, governor of Niger's Zinder region, said another five people were seriously injured in the attack late on Monday on the town, 950 km (590 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey.

The assailants arrived in three vehicles brandishing heavy machine guns, destroying vehicles and telecommunications and power installations before fleeing toward the bush, Yandaka said. Authorities were pursuing the attackers, he added.

The Tuareg-led rebel Niger Justice Movement (MNJ), which launched an armed revolt in the uranium-rich north a year ago, said its fighters had seized the town, killing seven soldiers and police and taking 11 prisoners, including the prefect.

The MNJ said on its Web site http://m-n-j.blogspot.com/ the attack was a retaliation against the Tanout prefect whom it accused of ordering officials to report residents suspected of supporting the rebels.

Tanout lies on the southern edge of Niger's northern Agadez region, a vast area of desert and rugged mountains which contains rich uranium reserves and mines which are the mainstay of the landlocked country's economy.

The MNJ, led by light-skinned Tuareg tribesmen, says it is fighting for more autonomy for the region and a greater share in its mineral riches for local inhabitants.

The rebels have killed at least 49 soldiers since launching their uprising in February and are holding at least 30 more as prisoners. Both the government and the MNJ accuse each other of laying landmines.

The government in the southern capital Niamey refuses to recognise the movement, dismissing its members as bandits and smugglers. It has declared a state of alert in the north and forbidden foreign journalists to travel there.

The state of alert gives government troops extensive powers in the north, and has reduced media reporting and other independent information from the area to a trickle.