Authorities in some West African countries have begun cracking down on groups and individuals suspected of being linked to the perpetrators of the 11 September terrorist attacks in the United States or of supporting their actions.

In Niger, the authorities announced on Friday the dissolution of two Islamic groups - the Association for Islamic Education and Culture (ACEI - French acronym) and the Niger Islamic Organisation (OIN) - whose leaders had been arrested on Wednesday for supporting the attacks.

The two leaders, ACEI Chairman Sheikh Imam Younous and OIN Secretary-General Boubacar El-Hadj Issa, were released on Friday. They had been arrested in connection with a letter Younous wrote to the US Embassy in Niamey, Niger's capital, stating that the attacks were the result of US foreign policy, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported. He also said his followers were ready to take up arms to defend Osama Bin Laden, the United States' main suspect, since Washington had no proof against him, according to RFI. The radio station said the US Embassy and the offices of international organisations were now on high alert in Niamey.

>From Mali, AFP reported that police were looking for a suspected Islamic militant, Mohammed Abedine Traore, in connection with the attacks. AFP reported police sources as saying they had received a letter which Traore had written to the Malian Association for the Progress and Unity of Islam (AMUPI), threatening to attack US installations. The French news agency quoted AMUPI Secretary-General El Hadj Mahmoud Dicko as saying that the coincidence between the time the letter was sent and that of the US attacks was troubling.