Gunfire was Reported Close to a Military base in the Capital of Niger

On Saturday, residents of Niamey, the capital of Niger, reported hearing gunfire throughout the night close to a military base at the international airport, which has been targeted by terrorists twice this year. The military government that has ruled Niger for the past three years has had difficulty containing the Islamist bloodshed that has plagued the west African nation for about ten years. A local citizen informed AFP, “There is heavy gunfire and explosions at Base 101 in Niamey.” Several other witnesses corroborated this statement.

Shooting and explosions in the capital were also mentioned in a number of social media posts, especially near the administrative district that houses the national television station and the presidential palace.

Online videos showed the community close to the airport being reinforced by armoured vehicles. No official statement has been released, and it is still unclear where the gunfire originated. Jihadists have targeted Niamey airport twice this year: once in January by the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS) and again in late June by its adversaries, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), the Sahel branch of Al-Qaeda.

In addition to attacking people and the armed forces, several jihadist organizations are vying for control of the Sahel, particularly in Niger. The January attack claimed the lives of twenty attackers and injured four soldiers, according to police at the time.

The head of the military government that followed a coup in July 2023, General Abdourahamane Tiani, claimed in January that “a flaw in the system” “enabled the attack,” whose “objective was to destroy all of the air capabilities” of the army.

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