Niger: 59 detained youths aren't al-Qaida after all

NIAMEY�? Niger said that it has freed 59 youths it had suspected of being al-Qaida recruits, saying they� were just migrants trying to get to another country.

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The youths had been held since a reported gunfight with suspected al-Qaida members in the north of the country on Sept. 15.

The governor of Agadez province, Garba Maikido, said Friday on Niger national television that soldiers had made contact with two different groups.

Angered after coming under fire from one group, the governor said, the soldiers manhandled the civilian driver of the another vehicle who was also carrying a gun, leading to the driver's death.

Niger at first accused the driver of being a recruiter for al-Qaida, iolnews reported. The youths were then detained. After the incident, Defense Minister Mahamadou Karidio told The Associated Press that three al-Qaida suspects had been killed and that assault rifles and a rocket-propelled grenade had been recovered.

But Maikido said the youths weren't being held by al-Qaida.

"We have freed all 59 youths said to be AQIM recruits. In fact, they were just passengers who wanted to be smuggled into a neighboring country," Maikido said.

The governor did not specify which country the migrants had intended to enter. Some African migrants are trying to make their way through Niger's mountain passes toward Libya, hoping the crisis there will ease their flight to Europe.

He said the civilian driver's death was being investigated. It wasn't clear if the report of three deaths and arms seizures was correct.

The poor, semi-arid west African nation has increased security patrols along its border with Libya on concerns that weapons looted from the Libyan armory could make their way to a region already home to al-Qaida elements and bandits.

One of Moammar Gadhafi's sons, Saadi Gaddafi, slipped into Niger last month and reportedly is living in a luxurious guesthouse next to the presidential palace in the capital.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44740490/ns/world_news-africa/

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