The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) was created late last year in a merger of several predominantly Tuareg groups seeking to seize territory in northern Mali.
A security source told AFP that Nigerien security services arrested Inkinane Ag Attaher, who the FLA says is a "commander within the Azawad army", in charge of training fighting units.
"For us, he's a terrorist," the Nigerien source said, adding that the suspect had two passports in his possession when arrested -- one Nigerien, the other Malian.
"The arrest in Niger took place between the Dosso region and the town of Birnin Konni, in southern Niger on the border with Nigeria," a local Tuareg source told AFP.
Bamako may soon request his extradition, according to a Malian source.
Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, three countries governed by military juntas, have formed their own confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), set up initially as a defence pact in 2023.
Attaher deserted from the Malian army and, in 2012, joined the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a group of separatist rebels who ousted the army from several regions in northern Mali.
Several Sahel observers consider him to be very active in the FLA's international networks, particularly those connected to Ukraine.
Since coming to power, Mali's ruling military junta has ended the country's long-standing alliance with former colonial power France and European partners, turning instead to Russia.
Mali has accused Kyiv of supporting the separatist group against its army, through training and logistics.
On X, Attaher has regularly displayed his support for Ukraine.
Mali and Niger broke off diplomatic relations with Ukraine in August 2024, a few weeks after the Malian army and its allies from Russia's Wagner mercenary group suffered a heavy blow against separatists and jihadists near the border with Algeria.
A Ukrainian military intelligence official had implied that Kyiv provided information to the rebels to enable them to carry out their attack.
The separatists resumed hostilities against the state and the army in 2023 as the United Nations stabilisation mission was pushed out by the ruling junta.
Since then, the armed separatist groups have lost control of several towns in the north, following an offensive by the Malian army that culminated in the capture of Kidal, a bastion of independence and a major sovereignty issue for the central government.
UK defence minister meets kin of murdered Kenyan woman, urges 'progress' in case
Nairobi (AFP) April 7, 2025 -
Britain's defence minister on Monday met the family of a young Kenyan mother who was found dead in 2012 after last being seen with a British soldier and stressed the need to "accelerate progress" in the case.
The high-profile case caused shock in the east African country and Agnes Wanjiru's family have long urged the UK government to open a "proper investigation" into her death.
The 21-year-old was found in a septic tank after she reportedly went partying with British soldiers at a hotel in central Nanyuki town, where Britain has a permanent army garrison.
After the first meeting of a British government minister with the family, Defence Secretary John Healey said in a statement that it was "deeply humbling".
Healey will meet Kenyan President William Ruto later on Monday and said he would "emphasise the need to accelerate progress in this case".
The case has been in limbo for years. Kenyan investigations have struggled while the former UK government stonewalled media allegations the army knew about the incident and did nothing.
Healey -- who claimed while in opposition that the previous government was "sitting on their hands" -- reiterated his "determination to see a resolution to the still unresolved case".
He said Britain would continue to offer "full support to the Kenyan investigatory authorities", adding: "Our government will continue to do everything we can to help the family secure the justice they deserve."
- Hearings postponed -
Following the Labour Party's victory over the Conservatives in Britain's elections last year, Wanjiru's family said it was pressing for progress on the case.
Her family said on Monday that while they were grateful for the meeting, attended by elder sister Rose Wanyua and other relatives, they had "waited for too many years and been offered too many empty promises".
They urged the Kenyan and UK governments to act to "bring closure to this matter" and ensure "what happened to Agnes never happens again".
In a statement, Kenya's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said a team of "senior prosecutors" had been assembled to review the case. No further details were given.
In October 2021, The Sunday Times reported that a soldier had confessed to his comrades to killing Wanjiru and showed them her body.
The report alleged that the murder was taken to military superiors, but no further action followed.
A Kenyan investigation was opened in 2019 but no results have been disclosed, and public hearings due in 2024 were postponed.
At the time of the Sunday Times report, a Labour spokesman told the newspaper the party would "of course" begin an inquiry if it took power.
Since Kenya gained independence in 1963, Britain has kept a permanent army base near Nanyuki around 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital Nairobi.
The British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) is an economic lifeline for many in Nanyuki but has proved a lightning rod for criticism.
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