Gunfire erupted early on Thursday at the airport in Niger’s capital, Niamey, residents told AFP, five months after a jihadist attack at the facility.
Niger has been ruled for the past three years by a military
junta that has struggled to contain violence blamed on jihadists.
In January, the Diori Hamani international airport in Niamey
and a military drone base were targeted in an attack claimed by the Islamic
State in the Sahel (EIS).
Nigerien armed forces and their Russian allies repelled the
strike, which was a rare development since violence had previously been
contained to other parts of the vast Sahel country.
“I heard the first shots around 6 o’clock (0500 GMT). The
shooting was coming from the airport entrance,” a resident told AFP by
telephone on Thursday.
He said firing was still ongoing two hours later.
Another resident confirmed the gunfire was coming from the
airport entrance, where there is a security checkpoint.
A number of residents said a large military presence had
been put in place at the airport.
Twenty assailants were killed and four soldiers wounded in
the surprise assault on January 29, which caused damage, authorities said.
The head of the ruling junta, Abdourahamane Tiani, who
seized power in a coup in July 2023, said on state television “a flaw in the
system” had “enabled the attack”, whose
aim, he said, “was to destroy all of the air capabilities” of the army.
In recent weeks, the authorities have started tearing down
thousands of illegally built homes next to Niamey airport.
They alleged the shanty towns had been infiltrated by
jihadists.
The demolitions affected 26,000 people living in four
neighbourhoods that occupy nearly a quarter of the airport area, authorities
said.
The airport perimeter fence has been extended, and more than
350 security cameras have been installed inside and outside the perimeter.
Niger and its military-ruled allies in West Africa — Burkina
Faso and Mali — have faced a decade of violence attributed to jihadists.
They have moved away from former colonial power France and
sought support from other partners, such as Iran, Turkey and Russia.
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