France has ordered special forces to protect uranium sites run by state-owned Areva in Niger as the threat of attacks on its interests rises after its intervention against rebels in Mali, a military source said on Thursday, January 24, Reuters reported.

Areva has been mining uranium in Niger for more than five decades and provides much of the raw materials that power France's nuclear power industry, the source of 75 percent of the country's electricity.

Paris launched air strikes and sent hundreds of soldiers into Niger's neighbor Mali this month to drive back al-Qaeda-linked rebels it said could turn the West African country into a base for international attacks.

The insurgents have threatened to hit French targets across the Sahel region in revenge and, days after the French assault, militants stormed a desert gas plant in Algeria and took hostages.

The military source confirmed a report in weekly magazine Le Point that special forces and equipment would be sent to Areva's uranium production sites in Imouraren and Arlit very quickly, but declined to go into further details.

Defense ministry officials declined to comment on the report and Areva said it did not talk about security issues.