NIAMEY, July 19 (Reuters) - Niger's media watchdog on Thursday suspended local FM broadcasts by Radio France International (RFI) for one month, accusing the French state-run channel of showing bias in favour of a Tuareg-led rebellion.

The High Council for Communications said in its ruling that RFI had broadcast "false information" about the uprising in Niger's desert north by the Niger Movement for Justice (MNJ).

The group has killed 33 soldiers and taken dozens hostage since February in a campaign for greater regional autonomy.

The regulator accused RFI of "open bias concerning the insecurity in the north and deliberately hiding facts and opinions unfavourable to the Niger Movement for Justice".

It did not cite examples of RFI's reporting.

International press rights bodies expressed alarm last week when the watchdog banned a regional newspaper for three months and warned several others to censor their reporting of the uprising by the nomadic Tuaregs, who want a greater share in the region's massive uranium resources.

The government has banned foreign journalists from leaving the capital Niamey to travel to the area of the rebellion around the ancient Saharan caravan town of Agadez, some 460 miles (740 kilometres) to the northeast.

RFI remains available in Niger and elsewhere via shortwave radio. Listeners with cheaper FM sets can usually receive FM broadcasts from six towns in Niger: Niamey in the west; Maradi, Zinder and Diffa in the east; Tahoua and Agadez in the north.

The light-skinned Tuaregs previously rebelled against a black African-dominated government in the 1990s, winning greater autonomy, but popular support for their cause has dwindled following democratic reforms by the Niamey government.

AlertNet news is provided by