Niamey. Sustained gunfire and explosions were heard early Saturday across several parts of Niger’s capital, including near the airport and presidential palace, in what four sources described as an attack by mutinous soldiers.
State television and radio were off air by 8am local time (0800 GMT), while the government issued a statement urging calm and saying security forces had been mobilised to respond to the attack.
The assault marks the latest threat to the rule of General Abdourahamane Tiani, who seized power in a 2023 coup. Tiani had pledged to improve security in the Sahel nation, a major uranium producer, but jihadist attacks have persisted.
Earlier this year, affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State carried out attacks targeting the civilian airport and military airbase in Niamey.
The latest assault lasted for several hours and involved soldiers from the localities of Ouallam, Tera and Dosso in southwestern Niger, according to a Niger security source and Yvan Guichaoua, a senior researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies.
Troops from the area have suffered heavy casualties in battles with the regional Islamic State affiliate.
Niger official reports ‘cowardly attack’
A separate Niger security source initially told Reuters that “terrorists” had attacked the airport and attempted to breach the security perimeter around the presidency. A Reuters witness reported heavy gunfire in the area near the presidential palace.
Bana Wagana Ibrahim, a member of Niger’s Bureau of the Consultative Council and a deputy in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) Parliament, said on Facebook that attackers had targeted the military airbase, known as Base 101, but that security forces had regained control.
“Another cowardly attack on Base 101 and once again our defence and security forces ensured ... Situation under control,” Mr Ibrahim wrote.
However, a Reuters witness reported further gunfire at the airport and heavy explosions in the pre-dawn hours after Mr Ibrahim’s statement.
By 9am GMT, the presidential palace appeared to have been secured by troops loyal to the government, but state television had reportedly fallen under the control of the mutineers and the area around the airport remained contested, according to two security sources and a diplomat.
Reuters could not independently verify the accounts.
A Niger government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Niger remains key uranium producer
Niger, a mineral-rich West African country with significant uranium, oil and gold resources, has been ruled by military officers since the July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.
Like neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, it has struggled to contain Islamist insurgencies linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State despite pledges by military rulers to improve security.
West Africa’s al Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for an attack on Niamey airport in June, five months after Islamic State Sahel Province targeted the same facility.
Since seizing power, General Tiani’s government has moved away from Western partners, strengthened ties with Russia and broken with the regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), joining Mali and Burkina Faso to form the breakaway AES bloc.
The latest unrest comes as authorities tighten control over the country’s uranium sector following the seizure of assets from French company Orano.
Niger had been a key supplier of nuclear fuel to Europe, accounting for about 15 per cent of Orano’s uranium supply at full capacity.
Last week, the government reallocated former Orano and GoviEx uranium permits to state-backed companies, according to a decree.
