They burned their camp to which the authorities were trying to force them to return.

It is reminiscent of what happened in Pretoria and Cape Town last year.

Thousands of refugees from the conflict in Sudan  and Libya have been accommodated in Niger. 

The camp is in Agadez which is a major hub for Africans headed for Europe..

They say conditions are poor and the UNHCR must relocate them. They staged a sit-in outside the offices of the world organisation.

When authorities beat some of them and forced them into a vehicles to return them to their camp, it was burned down. More than 300 arrests have been made

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The US is building a drone and  airbase in the northern Niger city of Agadez.

The extent of US military  involvement in Niger  was highlighted by the death of four Green Berets there a month ago. They were killed in an ambush along with five Nigerian soldiers.

Niger’s Defence Minister Kalla Moutari says his country doesn’t have known jihadi groups on its territory, but it’s increasingly affected by the spread of Islamist militancy in West Africa.

The US has 800 troops in Niger and has used unmanned surveillance planes there.

The use of armed drones will significantly increase US military involvement there.

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