A French mining company sues Niger after its director disappears and offices are raided

French uranium mining institution Orano has sued the authorities of Niger aft the disappearance of its manager and the raiding of its section offices, arsenic subject authorities successful the westbound African state tighten their grip connected overseas companies and civilian society. "Orano deplores this intervention, for which nary ineligible ground nor crushed has been offered," Orano said successful a connection precocious Tuesday, accusing authorities of arbitrary arrest, amerciable detention and "unjust confiscation of the spot of Nigerien companies, subsidiaries of Orano and the State of Niger itself." The company's manager was reportedly detained earlier this month. The institution says the raids successful Niamey, the capital, seized staff's physics devices and cellphones. Niger's subject authorities did not respond to a petition for comment. Orano has been operating successful Niger - the world's seventh biggest supplier of uranium - for implicit 50 years, but past twelvemonth the subject authorities withdrew the company's operating licence for the Imouraren uranium mine, with reserves estimated astatine 200,000 tons. The authorities besides took operational power of Orano's subsidiary, Somair, which operates the lone progressive uranium excavation successful the state adjacent the municipality of Arlit.

The subject authorities seized powerfulness successful 2023 connected the pledge of cutting ties with the West and vowed to reappraisal mining concessions. Before that, Niger was the West's large economical and information spouse successful the Sahel, the immense portion southbound of the Sahara Desert that has been a blistery spot for convulsive extremism. In different developments, the laminitis and manager of the backstage Sahara FM vigor station, Ibrahim Manzo, said Wednesday that authorities had arrested 3 of its unit members successful the cardinal metropolis of Agadez and accused them of spreading fake news. Although Niger's transitional authorities precocious released governmental prisoners successful an effort to calm the governmental climate, specified arrests continue.