Niger: Al-Qaeda's Sahelian branch claims responsibility for the deadly attack on Niamey airport

At least eleven soldiers and two civilians were killed Thursday in a new attack on the airport of Niamey, the capital of Niger, claimed by jihadists from the Sahelian branch of Al-Qaeda, six months after a first offensive perpetrated 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 by an attack from the Islamic State in the Sahel (ISS), which was repelled by the Nigerien army and its Russian partners.

This time, it was the jihadists of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM, its acronym in Arabic), the other group particularly active in the Sahel, who claimed responsibility for a "suicide attack" on the airport.

In a statement read on national television, the Ministry of Defense gave a "provisional toll" of 11 soldiers and two civilians killed and four wounded.

"On the enemy side, 22 assailants neutralized (killed, editor's note) and about twenty suspects arrested," the ministry continued, stating that the perpetrators of the attack were "equipped with explosive belts" and "attempted an incursion into the terminal of the airport" in Niamey.

The shooting occurred at a checkpoint on the only access road to the airport, a few hundred meters from the terminal entrance, but the jihadists were repelled by security forces. An airport source stated that the attackers arrived in taxis.

According to the ministry, "the situation is under control" and "the international airport, which is fully secure, remains open to air traffic".

However, the specialist website Flightradar indicates that several flights to Niamey were diverted or delayed on Thursday.

- Accusations against France -

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

According to the airport source, the attackers "scattered into the surrounding neighborhoods where security forces are conducting extensive sweeps" where some were shot dead, others "captured with the help of the population".

As with the January attack, the Nigerien regime pointed the finger at France, with the Ministry of Defense describing the attackers as "armed mercenaries in the pay of Emmanuel Macron's France".

Since coming to power through a coup in August 2023, the Nigerien junta has regularly accused the former colonial power of financing jihadists to destabilize it, which Paris denies.

Several organizations and states have reacted to the attack: the European Union "condemned" it via a publication from its representation in Niamey, and the African Union Commission, for its part, offered its "sincere condolences" and "commended the rapid response of the security forces."

Neighboring Benin, which is normalizing its relations with Niamey after a long falling out, has "expressed its full solidarity with the brotherly people of Niger".

This attack comes less than six months after the January 29 attack that shocked Niger, when the capital's airport was struck by jihadists for the first time. According to authorities, that attack 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 to destroy neighborhoods around the airport and taken various security measures.

"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, who points out that the Islamic State in the Sahel has launched "new attacks" in the country in recent days.

The Nigerien military regime 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 had struck hard in neighbouring Mali, also governed by a junta, even reaching the capital Bamako.