UPDATE 2-Niger Tuareg rebel rejects talk of ceasefire

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By Abdoulaye Massalatchi

NIAMEY, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Niger's Tuareg rebel leader Aghaly ag Alambo said on Tuesday his fighters would not lay down their arms and a pledge he made in Libya at the weekend was in fact a message from a Malian rebel group.

"President Aghaly ag Alambo never referred to an MNJ release of prisoners, ceasefire or laying down of arms," the Niger Justice Movement said in a statement posted on its website m-n-j.blogspot.com/.

Niger state television broadcast Alambo's comments on Monday, translated from the Tuareg Tamasheq language, including a pledge to lay down weapons and join a mediation process led by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The MNJ accused the government in Niamey of a "treacherous" misinterpretation, saying the message was from Malian rebel leader Ibrahim Ag Bahanga to Gaddafi, who has acted as a mediator in Tuareg-led rebellions in Mali and Niger.

The statement said the rebels would not lay down their weapons until their complaints had been addressed.

The MNJ took up arms last year calling for a greater share of the desert nation's resources, in particular the uranium that is mined in the north, where most of the clashes have taken place, killing 70 government soldiers and 200 rebels.

Niger's government has refused to talk to the rebels, whom it dismisses as bandits and smugglers, until they disarm. Having deployed helicopter gunships, it has gained the upper hand in recent months, killing the deputy rebel commander in June.