Sustained gunfire and explosions shook Niger’s capital of Niamey early Saturday, targeting the Diori Hamani International Airport and areas near the presidential palace. The pre-dawn assault marks the third time this year the strategic military and aviation hub has experienced major unrest under the ruling military government.
Assault on Base 101 and the Presidential Perimeter
Sustained gunfire and explosions rang out across several areas of Niger’s capital, Niamey, according to two Reuters witnesses, with the cause not immediately clear. The incident early on Saturday is the third time the city, and specifically a complex housing the international airport and a military airbase, has experienced major unrest this year, underscoring persistent insecurity under the military-led government that seized power in a coup in 2023 and vowed to restore order.
A security source told Reuters that “terrorists” had attacked the city’s Diori Hamani international airport and attempted to breach the security perimeter around the presidential palace. Heavy gunfire and explosions rang out early Saturday across several areas of Niger’s capital, including the airport and near the presidency, in what four sources described as an attack by mutinous soldiers.
State television and radio were offline as of 8 a.m. local time (0800 GMT), though the government issued a statement urging calm and saying security forces were mobilising in response. Local media also reported gunshots ringing out from the Plateau administrative district, where the Presidential Palace and key institutions are located. Security forces were deployed around the airport and in the Plateau district while a major road leading to Niamey was closed.
There is heavy gunfire and explosions at Base 101 in Niamey,
one local resident told AFP, a report confirmed by several other witnesses, and referring to a major military installation in Niamey. The early morning assault lasted for hours, involving soldiers from the localities of Ouallam, Tera and Dosso in the southwest, according to a Niger security source and Yvan Guichaoua, senior researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies. Troops in this area have sustained heavy casualties in battles with the regional Islamic State affiliate.
State broadcaster RTN stopped its live transmission for a few hours on Saturday morning, but later resumed its broadcast. It did not report the attack. Videos being shared online on Saturday showed armored vehicles deployed in the neighbourhood near the airport, and according to the AFP and Reuters agencies, locals said that the country’s national television was no longer broadcasting, with Tele Sahel’s satellite and online programming replaced with a black screen.
Conflicting Claims and Security Response
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 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,”
Bana Wagana Ibrahim, a member of Niger’s Bureau of the Consultative Council and a deputy in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) parliament
Reuters news agency could not immediately verify the claims made by the security source and Ibrahim. A second security source told Reuters that security forces had launched search operations and that the attackers had been “neutralised”, with others fleeing, while a second witness reported that the gunfire had been heavy and persistent around the presidential palace.
The ruling military council, known as the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, called for unity and issued a social media statement. The council stated that its defense and security forces were mobilized for the defense of the fatherland and urged people to remain united, vigilant and supportive.
Persistent Insecurity Under Military Rule
The attack marked the latest threat to the rule of 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 both carried out attacks on the civilian airport and military airbase. Niamey has been targeted by jihadists twice this year: once by the so-called Islamic State in the Sahel
group (EIS) and again in June by their rivals from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
Niger, like its Sahelian neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, has for years been ruled by a military junta that has struggled to stem a jihadi insurgency, with regional military leaders continuing to struggle to make good on their security promises.
