Libyan mercenaries arming African rebels

The return of mercenaries to their homelands after the fall of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi has spurred other countries into armed conflict, one expert says. After Gadhafi's death in October, thousands of his hired fighters left with stockpiles of weapons, returning to their native countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Nigeria, said Mehari Taddele Maru of the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa. "This is a setback for the international community which has invested so much money in the past decade in democracy, peace, and security in Africa," Maru said. "Those arms can circulate and come into the hands of anyone who can pay for them." In Mali, for example, when ethnic Taureg fighters returned from Libya, they launched a rebellion against the government in January, ABC News reported Tuesday. The United Nations estimates the fighting has displaced about 130,000 citizens of Mali, many of whom are already in need of aid due to drought. Maru is concerned the fighting in Mali might inspire the Tauregs in Niger to rebellion. "The Tauregs in Niger got funding from Gadhafi. The government of Niger has been able to negotiate with them for peace, but for how long? That is questionable," said Maru.