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Tezirzaït
Tezirzaït (var. ''Tazerzait'', ''Tezirzayt'', ''Tezirzik'') is a village in the Aïr Massif of northern Niger. Tezirzaït is the prime village of the Tezirzaït Valley, which forms the northern edge of the Tamgak Massif in the center-east Aïr Massif. The village is bordered on the north by the Temet massif, and runs out into the Tenere Desert and past the Chiriet massif on the east. It was twice the scene of heavy fighting during the Tuareg rebellion (2007–2009), Tuareg Rebellion. The village is the site of an oasis, a small Kel Owey Tuareg people, Tuareg village, and nearby archeological sites, including rock carvings and neolithic graves. Conflict On June 22, 2007, the Niger Movement for Justice (NMJ) 2007 Tezerzaït attack, attacked Nigerien government positions in Tezirzaït. The battle was the first major incident in the Tuareg rebellion (2007–2009), 2007–2009 Tuareg rebellion. In February and March 2008, Nigerien forces went on the offensive against Tuareg rebels of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuareg Rebellion (2007–2009)
The Tuareg Rebellion of 2007–2009 was an insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregu ... that began in February 2007 amongst elements of the Tuareg people living in the Sahara desert regions of northern Mali and Niger. It is one of a series of insurgencies by formerly nomadic Tuareg populations, which had last appeared in the mid-1990s, and date back at least to 1916. Populations dispersed to Algeria and Libya, as well as to the south of Niger and Mali in the 1990s returned only in the late 1990s. Former fighters were to be integrated into national militaries, but the process has been slow and caused increased resentment. Malian Tuaregs had conducted some raids in 2005–2006, which ended in a renewed peace agreement. Fighting in both nations was carried on largely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2007 Tezerzaït Attack
On June 22, 2007, the Niger Movement for Justice attacked Nigerien government positions in Tezirzaït, Niger. The battle was the first major incident in the 2007–2009 Tuareg rebellion. Background The Niger Movement for Justice was formed in February 2007 by Tuaregs in the rural, northern areas of Niger in tandem with Malian Tuareg movements led by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga. The MNJ was created as a response to heavy French and Western mining in Tuareg lands, and MNJ leaders desired more uranium mining revenue be directed to the impoverished Tuareg-inhabited regions. The MNJ's first attack on February 8 was in the town of Iferouane, which solidified the group's existence. Attack Prior to the attack, eighty-seven Nigerien soldiers were present at the base in Tezerzaït, which lies at the base of Mount Tamgak in the Aïr Mountains in northern Niger. The MNJ stated that the attack was a response to Nigerien President Mamadou Tandja's statements denying the existence of a Tuareg reb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agadez
Agadez ( Air Tamajeq: ⴰⴶⴰⴷⴰⵣ, ''Agadaz''), formerly spelled Agadès, is the fifth largest city in Niger, with a population of 110,497 based on the 2012 census. The capital of Agadez Region, it lies in the Sahara desert, and is also the capital of Aïr, one of the traditional Tuareg–Berber federations. The historic centre of the town has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. History Agadez was founded before the 14th century, and, by growing around trans-Saharan trade, gradually became the most important city of the Tuareg people, supplanting Assodé. The city still sees the arrival of caravans, bringing salt from Bilma. In 1449 Agadez became a sultanate, but was later conquered by the Songhai Empire in 1515, remaining a part of that empire until 1591.Geels, Jolijn, (2006) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Niger'', pgs. 157-200 At this point, the city had a population of around 30,000 people and was a key passage for the medieval caravans trading betwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arlit
Arlit is an industrial town and capital of the Arlit Department of the Agadez Region of northern-central Niger, built between the Sahara Desert and the eastern edge of the Aïr Mountains. It is 200 km south by road from the border with Algeria. As of 2011, the commune had a total population of 112,432 people. Uranium industry Founded in 1969 following the discovery of uranium, it has grown around the mining industry, developed by the French government. Two large uranium mines, at Arlit and nearby Akouta, are exploited by open top strip mining. One open pit mine was built in 1971 by the National Mining Company of Niger, SOMAIR. The Second open pit mine, as well as a third underground mine, was built by the French Compagnie Minière d'Akouta (or COMINAK). All the ore from both is now processed and transported by a French company Orano Cycle, a holding of the Orano group, itself a state owned operation of the French ''Commissariat à l'énergie atomique'' (CE ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Areva
Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (54.37%), Banque publique d'investissement (3.32%), and Agence des participations de l'État (28.83%). Électricité de France, of which the French government has a majority ownership stake, owned 2.24%; Kuwait Investment Authority owned 4.82% as the second largest shareholder after the French state. As a part of the restructuring program following its insolvency, Areva sold out or discontinued its renewable energy businesses, sold its reactors business subsidiary Areva NP (now: Framatome) to EDF and its nuclear propulsion and research reactors subsidiary Areva TA (now: Technicatome) to Agence des participations de l'État, and separated its nuclear cycle business into a separate company New Areva (later: Oran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aïr Mountains
The Aïr Mountains or Aïr Massif ( tmh, Ayăr; Hausa: Eastern ''Azbin'', Western ''Abzin'') is a triangular massif, located in northern Niger, within the Sahara. Part of the West Saharan montane xeric woodlands ecoregion, they rise to more than and extend over . Lying in the midst of desert north of the 17th parallel, the Aïr plateau, with an average altitude between , forms an island of Sahel climate which supports a wide variety of life, many pastoral and farming communities, and dramatic geological and archaeological sites. There are notable archaeological excavations in the region that illustrate the prehistoric past of this region. The endangered African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus'') once existed in this region, but may now be extirpated due to human population pressures in this region. Geology The Precambrian to Cenozoic Aïr Mountains consist of peralkaline granite intrusions which appear dark in colour (unusual since most granitic masses are light- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuareg People
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern Algeria, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Traditionally nomadic pastoralists, small groups of Tuareg are also found in northern Nigeria. The Tuareg speak languages of the same name (also known as ''Tamasheq''), which belong to the Berber branch of the Afroasiatic family. The Tuaregs have been called the "blue people" for the indigo dye coloured clothes they traditionally wear and which stains their skin. They are a semi-nomadic people who practice Islam, and are descended from the indigenous Berber communities of Northern Africa, which have been described as a mosaic of local Northern African ( Taforalt), Middle Eastern, European ( Early European Farmers), and Sub-Saharan African-related ancestries, prior to the Arab expansion. Tua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niger Movement For Justice
The Nigerien's Movement for Justice (in French ''Mouvement des Nigériens pour la justice'', MNJ) is a largely Tuareg ethnic, northern Niger based militant group. But the MNJ also includes other nomadic ethnicities, within this area, such as the Toubou and the Fulani have also joined the group, which has been battling the Niger government since 2007. The MNJ wants a greater share of the revenues from northern Niger's uranium wealth to be invested in the region. Niger is one of the top five uranium producers in the world. It is also one of the bottom five poorest countries on earth. The MNJ also want a restriction of the area that will be affected by the expansion of the uranium mines, to protect the space they need to raise their animals. The Niger government has dismissed the MNJ as "bandits" and "drug-smugglers", and turned the northern half of the country into a closed military zone under curfew and military law suspending certain freedoms. Journalists are strictly pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niger
) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesRépublique du Niger, "Loi n° 2001-037 du 31 décembre 2001 fixant les modalités de promotion et de développement des langues nationales." L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde (accessed 21 September 2016) , languages = , religion_ref = , religion_year = 2012 , religion = , demonym = Nigerien , capital = Niamey , coordinates = , largest_city = Niamey , government_type = Unitary state, Unitary Semi-presidential s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kel Owey
The Kel Awey (var. Kel Owi, Kel Ewey form ''People of the Bull'') are a Tuareg clan confederation. From the 18th century until the advent of French colonial rule at the beginning of the 20th century, they were a dominant power in the Aïr Mountains of north central Niger. History The Kel Awey have, like many Tuareg confederations, been both a sub-group of other confederations and the dominant power over other clans. In 1740 the Kel Awey moved south from modern Algeria and destroyed the town of Assodé, sacked Agadez, placed the Sultanate of Agadez under their control, and dispersed the Kel Ayr to the south and west. The confederation was then under the direct suzerainty of the Anastafidet, lord of the Kel Awey. Heinrich Barth passed through the Aouderas valley with a Kel Awey trans-Saharan caravan in 1850, and reported that it was only recently that the Kel Awey had pushed the Kel Gres and Kel Itesen Tuareg south and west out of the valley. When the French appeared in force in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
