Rebels warn Niger and China over oil deal Lagos (AFP) June 9, 2008 Tuareg and Tubu rebels in Niger denounced an oil deal signed between Niger and China, warning there could be reprisals if the agreement is followed through, in a message posted on their website Monday. The FARS Revolutionary Armed Forces of the Sahara -- a tribal Tubu rebel group allied with the Tuareg rebellion -- said it would hold "the government of Niger and Chinese society responsable for any failure to heed this warning." "We want to warn the Chinese company against all exploration during this period of insecurity in the Agadem block," said FARS. On June 2, Niger signed an agreement with the China National Oil and Gas Development Exploration Corporation (CNODC) for prospecting and exploiting oil in Agadem in the southeastern Diffa region. This is the region where the Movement of Niger People for Justice (MNJ) and army have clashed since 2007. Meanwhile, the MNJ said the deal would only work for the people of Niger when it negotiated in a "context of peace and serenity." Under the agreement, Niger will rake in an initial 300 million dollars (190 millon euros), with CNODC investing another 300 million dollars for prospecting and 1.2 billion dollars for oilfield exploration. Also part of the project is the construction over three years of an oil pipeline to direct crude oil towards the south for refining. But the MNJ and the FARS said it was is "absurd to refine oil extracted in the east in a plant in the south", insisting this will deprive Diffa of its resources. FARS has been calling for the development of Diffa and said it has planted landmines in the southeastern zone of Kawar so as to hamper the work of foreign companies. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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