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Niger: Northern Niger
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Niger is the largest country in West Africa and is 80% desert. It is a landlocked, arid nation in north central Africa, surrounded by Algeria, Libya, Chad, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Mali. The northern borders of Niger stretch to the middle regions of the Sahara Desert. The remaining 20% along the southern border consists of dry to semi-fertile savanna (grassland).
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The largest ethnic groups in Niger are the Hausa, who ... constitute the major ethnic group in northern Nigeria, and the Djerma-Songhai, who also are found in parts of Mali. Both groups, along with the Gourmantche, are sedentary farmers who live in the arable, southern tier of the country. The remainder of Nigeriens are nomadic or semi-nomadic livestock-raising peoples--Fulani, Tuareg, Kanuri, Arabs, and Toubou. With rapidly growing populations and the consequent competition for meager natural resources, lifestyles of agriculturalists and livestock herders have come increasingly into conflict in Niger in recent years.
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The northern desert of Niger has little vegetation. In the south are extensive savanna grasslands and, in the lowlands, a variety of trees, including baobab, tamarind, kepok, and a species of mahogany. Animal life includes elephant, buffalo, antelope, giraffe, and lion.
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Foreigners who elect to travel in northern Niger despite the current security situation must submit an approved travel plan through the office of the Governor of Agadez. Travelers should first contact the Syndicat de Tourisme in Agadez (telephone: 96 98 78 81) to enlist the services of a registered tour operator, who will formally coordinate with Nigerien government and security officials on tourist safety and security in the North and who can facilitate the submission of the required itinerary and intended route.
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[THV] 20,000 (1998).The Hoggar dialect is in the south Hoggar (Ajjer) Mountain area around Tamanrasset and south into Niger. The Ghat dialect is in southeast Algeria around Ganet and west Libyan oases around Ghat. Alternate names: TAMASHEQ, TAMACHEK, TAMASHEKIN, TOMACHEK, TUAREG, TOUAREG, TOURAGE. Dialects: HOGGAR (AHAGGAREN, AJJER, TAHAGGART), GHAT (GANET, DJANET). Classification: Afro-Asiatic, Berber, Tamasheq, Northern.
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Considerable evidence indicates that about 600,000 years ago, humans inhabited what has since become the desolate Sahara of northern Niger. Long before the arrival of French influence and control in the area, Niger was an important economic crossroads, and the empires of Songhai, Mali, Gao, Kanem, and Bornu, as well as a number of Hausa states, claimed control over portions of the area.
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Northern Niger