Niger: At least eleven soldiers and two civilians killed in a new attack on Niamey airport

At least eleven soldiers and two civilians were killed in a new attack by suspected jihadists against the airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger, six months after a first offensive claimed by the Islamic State group.

Niger has been ruled for almost three years by a junta that is struggling to stem the jihadist violence plaguing the country.

At the end of January, Niamey airport and the adjacent military base had already been targeted for several hours by a large-scale attack repelled by the Nigerien army and its Russian partners.

On Thursday morning, the perpetrators of the attack, "some of whom were wearing explosive belts, attempted an incursion into the terminal building of Niamey airport," but "the prompt reaction of the security forces prevented the attackers from reaching the terminal building," the Ministry of Defense said in a statement read on national television.

"The provisional toll of this treacherous attempted incursion is as follows: on the friendly side, 13 martyrs including 11 members of the defense and security forces and 2 civilians, 4 wounded. On the enemy side, 22 assailants neutralized, about twenty suspects arrested," he detailed.

However, the specialist website Flightradar indicates that several flights to Niamey have been diverted or delayed.

Sensitive site

According to residents interviewed by AFP on Thursday morning, the first shots were fired at 06:00 (05:00 GMT) and lasted at least two hours.

The shots were fired at a checkpoint on the only access road to the airport, a few hundred meters from the terminal entrance.

According to an airport source, the armed assailants arrived at the police perimeter "in taxis" before being confronted with "fierce resistance" from the security forces.

Calm had returned to the area by 10:00 AM (09:00 GMT), and according to the same airport source, the attackers "dispersed into the surrounding neighborhoods where security forces are conducting extensive sweeps."

"Many attackers were killed, others captured with the help of the population," the same source indicated, a fact confirmed by a motorcycle taxi driver in the area.

This incident comes less than six months after the January 29 attack that shocked Niger, when the capital's airport was targeted by jihadists for the first time. According to authorities, it left four people injured and caused significant material damage.

The site is sensitive: between December and January, it housed a large shipment of uranium concentrate, held up pending export. No movement of this shipment has been detected since.

General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the military regime that came to power in a coup in July 2023, had mentioned "a flaw in the system" which "allowed the attack", whose "objective was to destroy all the air capabilities" of the army.

In recent weeks, the regime had launched a major campaign of destruction of neighborhoods around the airport and taken other measures: at the airport, the perimeter wall was extended and more than 350 cameras were installed inside and outside the compound.

"It seems that the establishment of a security zone, which began recently, is already bearing fruit," wrote the Russian Telegram channel Departamente, which covers West Africa.

"The ease with which these attacks are carried out also suggests that the attackers are able to obtain information from within," cautions Hasret Kargin, a researcher at the intelligence firm Mintel World.

In addition, in recent days, "the Islamic State in the Sahel (ISIS) has launched new attacks in the country," and "it is the first group that comes to mind for this attack as well," he said.

The Nigerien military regime, which did not comment on the attack on Thursday, has been facing jihadists since the mid-2010s, against whom it is struggling to fight, like its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali.

In April, JNIM (Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims) had struck hard in neighbouring Mali, also governed by a junta, even reaching the capital Bamako.

Since coming to power, the regime has moved closer to Russia, Turkey, and Iran, after expelling the French army, which was involved in the fight against jihadists. It maintains frosty relations with Paris.

AFP