The government of Niger has ordered the French charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF – Læger uden Grænser) to halt all operations, BBC online reports Thursday.
MSF says no reasons were given for the order to stop work but local media say it is suspected of having links with rebels. The charity said it was continuing to offer a reduced level of help while talks continued with the government.
The group provides treatment and food aid for ten of thousands of children in Niger, where malnutrition is rife. In 2005, the poor Sahelian country suffered a major food crisis which aid organisations said the government was trying to hide the calamity.
Nigers Radio Anfani said MSF was suspected of helping a group fighting a rebellion in the north of the country, the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ). The MNJ is made up of nomadic people from the Tuareg ethnic group, which has long complained of being marginalised by the government.
Since last year, a series of attacks by the group on government facilities has since claimed the lives of dozens of soldiers. The rebels recently called for 30 per cent of the revenue from the lucrative uranium mines to be spent in their region.
