Organisers of the annual Dakar motor rally have cancelled a stage of the race through Niger because of what's been described as a terrorist threat.

The warning came from the French foreign ministry, which had apparently been alerted by the United States.

The BBC correspondent in Paris says there's no indication of the source of the threat, though it is known to originate outside Niger.

The rally organisers are now considering airlifting the four-hundred drivers on to the next stage so as to avoid the area.

The rally ,which began in January in Senegal and is due to end in Cairo, had already been re-routed to avoid Mauritania, where a gang last year robbed fifty-two competitors at gunpoint. As the gang drove away with eight vehicles, money and other valuables, their leader waved, shouting "See you next year!"

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service