Libya has begun repatriating hundreds of Nigerien Tuareg rebel fighters, state television in Niger reported on Nov. 11, 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," Abba Malam Boukar, the governor of the Agadez region, which is home to most of the uranium and was central to the violence, said. (Reuters)
