Sarkozy and Areva ink deals in DR Congo and Niger

French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Areva CEO, Anne Lauvergeon, have returned from their African tour after inking uranium mining deals in Niger - where the Touareg are threatened with elimination - and in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo where three million people have already died due to fighting over the country's mineral wealth. The Congo war has been described as "Africa's world war" and in a "humanitarian crisis" yet Areva has claimed the exclusive right to further plunder the country by mining uranium there. The Imouraren mine in Niger, which is expected to produce 5,000 tonnes of uranium a year - mainly to fuel France's import-dependent nuclear reactors - will force out the already threatened nomadic Touareg population. Scarce water supplies in the Sahara region will be further decimated by the new mine, compounded by the Niger government's decision to award dozens of additional uranium prospecting contracts to international mining corporations.