ECHO to send aid to thousands in the north

People displaced by war in northern Niger in the early 1990s will receive aid worth 280,000 euro (US $303,000) from the European Union, a source at the EU's humanitarian agency, ECHO, told IRIN on Thursday. Some 70,000 persons, mainly in the northern districts of Agadez and Tahoua, will benefit directly and another 150,000 indirectly from the humanitarian aid. They were displaced in 1990-1995 by fighting between Tuareg rebels and government troops in the north. "This amount marks the fourth stage of help since 1997 in support of the peace process," the ECHO (European Community Humanitarian Office) source said. The aid will go towards income-generating activities, food security, provision of water, and the rebuilding of infrastructure. It will be distributed by the European NGOs Cooperazione per lo sviluppo dei paesi emergenti (COSPE), Action Contre la Faim (AFC) and Premihre Urgence (PU).