20111031
Reuters
(Reuters) - Niger risks sparking a new Tuareg rebellion in its desert north if it mishandles any entry by Muammar Gaddafi's fugitive son Saif al-Islam onto its soil, a leading human rights official in the West African country said Sunday.

Saif al-Islam is thought to be somewhere in the mountainous zone on Libya's southern borders with Algeria and Niger, where Tuareg nomads still revere his father for long backing their past insurgencies against the southern-based government.

Aid-dependent Niger has not confirmed the presence of Saif al-Islam on its territory but says that if he shows up it will respect commitments to the International Criminal Court, which is seeking him for war crimes.

"Even if the government take the decision (to hand him over), national opinion must be consulted to make sure this does not create further tensions. That is the last thing we need right now," said Moustapha Kadi, national coordinator of Niger's human rights and democracy groups said in an interview.

"We have just got shot of one rebellion. We don't want any more conflict in the north, we don't want more hold-ups on the roads, kidnappings of westerners and attacks on public buildings . If the issue of Gaddafi's son is not handled properly, it could trigger unmanageable situations."

Thanks in part to talks hosted by Gaddafi, Niger and neighboring Mali managed in 2009 to seal a shaky peace with Tuareg rebels after a two-year insurgency that was just the latest bout of unrest in the north going back decades.

Since then it has had to deal with the emergence of al Qaeda-linked groups targeting Western workers at its northern-based uranium mines as hostages, and a 2010 military coup by soldiers that returned power to civilians in March this year.

PRAYERS FOR GADDAFI

The strength of feeling for Gaddafi was on display in the main northern town of Agadez earlier this week where hundreds turned up at the main mosque to pray for him to rest in peace and to give a blessing to his children.

Some residents interviewed by Reuters said they were willing to give Saif al-Islam shelter and would protest if Niger collaborated in his extradition to the Hague.

Niger already hosts a handful of Gaddafi loyalists including his son Saadi who are not wanted by the ICC, and which it has said it would hand over to Libya's new rulers only if it was convinced they would get a fair trial.

"The manner of Gaddafi's execution suggests there is no proof that they would get a fair trial," noted Kadi, reflecting a widely-felt sense of disgust in Africa at images of Gaddafi's bloodied body sent around the world in the past week.

If Saif al-Islam were to seek asylum in Niger, Kadi said any decision should weigh both the humanitarian aspects and the implications for Niger's security.

"The government is free to study that, without ruling out the ICC's request. We should put Niger's interests first."

Niger has warned that arms spilling out of Libya into the region, together with the return of armed Nigeriens who fought for Gaddafi, already risk destabilising its arid north just as the country faces one of its recurrent food shortages.

A member of the ruling coalition earlier played down the risk of an al-Islam appearance triggering a rebellion, noting that President Mahamadou Issoufou had been careful to appoint Tuaregs to key positions as part of a reconciliation drive.

Habi Mahamadou Salissou, vice-president of the Nigerien Democratic Movement, said any extradition process would be handled with Saif al-Islam's safety in mind and suggested it would be better for him to turn himself in.

"I have read that the ICC has indirect contacts with him. If indeed they are in talks with him, it's perhaps best that he goes of his own accord rather than to be hunted and caught by Libyans who will end up lynching him as they did to his father," Salissou told Reuters.