On October 1st, the FAN Forces Armee du Niger (Army of Niger) had stopped five vehicules in the far North of Niger close to the Algerian border, headed North. The passengers were urged to leave the vehicules. The FAN then separated the dark-skinned passengers from the lighter-skinned persons who were supposedly thought to be Touareg.
The soldiers of the FAN then shot those persons to death.

One day later the same army detachment of the FAN attacked people in the region between Assamaka and Arlit in their tents, took 17 individuals from their tents and shot them subsequently arbitrarily and without any reason.
According to reports from NNJ Mouvement des Nigériens pour la Justice (Movement of Nigeriens for Justice) these persons did not at all belong to the armed oppostion movement.

All persons executed have not been involved in a combat situation at that time. There have been no charges laid, there is no court verdict involved at all.

The FAN and the Nigerian Government are again violating the Geneva Convention as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Furthermore, the RFI journalist, Moussa Kaka (RFI Radio France International) is still being held incarcerated in Niger. He had repsored about the conflict in the North and thus also had contacts to the MNJ; now, he is being accused by the Nigerian Government for this contacts.
This is a violation of the Freedom of Press.
Among others, Reporters with Frontiers is pushing to get him liberated from Niger incarceration.

For more information:

Email: newsgroup.nordniger[at]yahoo.de

Website  http://newsgroup-nordniger.blogspot.com

Website of MNJ  http://m-n-j.blogspot.com/

News agencies:  http://www.reuters.com/,  http://africa.reuters.com/NE/

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newsgroup.nordniger reports on the latest movements in the north of Niger since spring 2007, especially on the MNJ’s activities and all the according news and background information.

In the newsgroup.nordniger, people from the German speaking area are engaged who took over the task of reporting on news on the situation in northern Niger, the so-called Tuareg rebellion, the activities of the MNJ and everything that is related to it, as there is else only little or no information available.

newsgroup.nordniger is in contact with other groups with the same goal.