Heavily-armed men attacked a French-run uranium prospecting camp in Niger on Friday, killing a security guard and injuring three others, officials said.

Some 20-30 men demanding a better deal for local Tuareg people stormed into the camp in three four-wheel drive vehicles and made off with six cars and a large number of mobile phones.

The raid took place around 3:30 am (0230 GMT) at Imouraren, 85 kilometres (55 miles) south of the main uranium-producing centre of Arlit, sources said.

A local security guard was killed and three others wounded, one of them “very seriously,” said a spokesman for French nuclear energy group Areva, which runs Imouraren mine, from Paris.

They attacked the “heart” of the camp housing some 40 Niger and French scientists, he said. There were a total of 250 people in the camp.

“It is the first time that something like this has happened in an exploration camp,” he said, adding that security there would be tightened by the group in conjunction with Niger security forces.

The gunmen said they belonged to a group called the Niger Movement for Justice, which emerged in February.

They called for the proper implementation of a 1995 accord which ended a Tuareg rebellion by promising the tribesmen priority in jobs with local mining companies.

“For the past few weeks we have been noticing this group being active in the region,” the Areva spokesman said. “The Niger government has tightened security — we had asked them to — on all the sites owned by Areva.”

One source said it was the first such raid for many years.

Niger ranks third among world uranium producers, with two large mines in and around Arlit, both operated by Areva. The one attacked was its biggest.