in Niger, a War for What Is Beneath the Desert.

Thank you for the comment Gerry, Well yes it would and does infuse Niger with lots of cash, to the point that its leaders can buy private jets and new top notch assault Helicopters as well as buy some Mansions in Europe. Yet not to help the people nor to build Schools or Hospitals in the north nor to give equal rights to its Minorities the Peul and the Tuaregs.

Energy, our main focus since the Oil crisis of the 1970 has been Nuclear, yet, once the Oil crisis was over we focused once again on Oil!

Now that we are in the middle of a new Oil crisis much worse than the previous one, many such as Canada, the USA, China, Japan and especially France and GB focus once again on Nuclear power!

With plans to build many new Nuclear Power station around the World, some already under way in Canada, the USA and France as well as in China, the demand for raw URANIUM is rising!

Germany, Sweden are not going back into Nuclear power though, they are closing more and more Nuclear Power stations since the 1990, mainly because no one knows what to do with the Toxic waste, that is being stored in salt mines and in some cases just dumped into the Ocean, providing us with a ticking time bomb for future generations!

Why the next Energy crisis? Simple, we get most of our Uranium from Australia, Canada and from Niger about making Australia, Canada and Niger the three main Uranium sources in the World today!

The Problem is that the Uranium in Niger is in the Air Mountain, the home of the Tuaregs, who have lived there now over 2000 years and so far no one cared much about them since where they live is the middle of the Sahara dessert!

See: http://www.nowpublic.com/world/end-tuaregs-niger-chad-mali-and-cameroon-algeria-and-libya

However the Tuareg have been a minority in Niger whose main population the Houssa, live in the far south along the great Niger River, controlling, politics, government, Army and Police.

The Tuaregs demand equal rights and Schools, even to be part of the Government and to be allowed to have a say in what is to be done with their home land and their future! 

The 2 to 3 Million Tuaregs have been subdue by the FAN (Niger's Armed Forces) Since the Government in Niamey is not willing to grant them even a hearing! 

This constant discrimination and oppression has brought the Tuaregs to rebel! At first with a Political party of their own, the MNJ (Niger's movement for Justice),  but this party was outlawed by the Niger Government and the party leaders put in prison as well as any Journalist that dared to write about their demands and goals for justice for all people in Niger!

The Tuareg were forced to work in the Uranium mines and supposed to stay silent or be silenced by force! This was the beginning of the Tuareg uprising in Niger!

The Tuaregs have been persecuted ever since they dared to speak up and to speak out and every day Tuareg civilians get arrested, tortured and often killed. Many of the victims are Children and most helpless against their aggressor the FAN (Niger's Armed Forces).

The FAN (Nigers's Armed Forces) has reportedly poisoned wells and water holes essentially the only water source for the Tuaregs and their life stock, killing them by the dozens since those water hole and wells are the 'gold of the dessert' and absolutely vital for the Nomads and the villagers, such action by it  self is genocide to a people, for which the FAN and the Niger Government should be put on trial in an international court for such crimes!

The Uranium mines may soon be no more since the MNJ intends to blow them up so that the FAN has no longer a source of revenue used to surpress the Tuareg.

Since the USA, Canada, France, GB and China as well as Japan, do have a great Hunger for Uranium for their Nuclear Power Stations. they want to make sure the supply does not dry out!

And there for they support Niger's Government and the FAN with advice and Weapons as well as training and Mercenaries to fight the Tuaregs. Since four of the Countries in need of Uranium also have veto power in the UNO security council, it is very unlikely that the Tuaregs will ever get heard nor have even a remote chance to survive this Genocide!

Unless the Public throughout the World listens and cries out! No news comes out or barely any, since the Countries in need of Uranium want a cheap and steady supply of this energy source, none of them are interested in Justice even less in Human Rights, after all they are only 2 to 3 Million Tuaregs left all over North West Africa and who will care.

No one did for Darfour really, or Rwanda and even less for Zimbabwe now that China and Russia have vetoed any UN sanction against Zimbabwe. The chance that any one would care about the Genocide committed against the Tuaregs in Niger before it will be to late any how, is rather remote.

We need our energy more and the Price of our energy supply does not allow for Human rights nor do the Tuareg matter enough for us to care about their faith as long as we get cheap Uranium out of Niger!

However should the Tuareg succeed in destroying the Uranium Mines, we in the West may have to pay dearly for energy and run out of Uranium!

Are we really that shallow in the Western Nations as to let Genocide be happening before our eyes just so we may have enough cheap Uranium for ourselves?

Sorry for the long comment and abstract of earlier Posts of mine.

Thank you for reading, Commenting and R" this Post. I do appreciate it.

It's compared to a species of neo-colonialism that rapes and pillages like old time colonialism never dreamed of. 

Try Mozilla Firefox works high speed with the new software, internet explorer still some problems

Gerry, it is a very good question and I can give you the anther here as well,

Niger restricts all Journalist and has even incarcerated foreign Journalist in the past two years, those where freed after EU intervention.

If one wants to report from Niger one has to go under cover as an NGO Worker or Red Cross and hope not to get discovered.

This is rather difficult since NGO workers are always surrounded by Soldiers and to get away from those is not easy.

The other way is what we did last Year, we went in through Libya and out Through Algeria, Yet in order to do this one has to know the Desert fairly well and the People as well.

And there are no Hotels or Restaurants in either way. Tents and Land Rovers or Camels are your home. Couscous and Sorgome your meal. The Tea is excellent though.

I go back for the BBC if they pay for my expenses. :)