Chaos in Niamey as armed attack rocks International Airport

The people of Niamey said that gunshots were fired in the early hours of Thursday morning at the airport of Niamey, which raised fears regarding security at the airport, nearly five months after an earlier attack from a jihadist group.

This incident is occurring amid a situation where Niger is battling insecurity, following three years of military rule that seeks to stem attacks associated with the activities of armed groups within the region.

A month ago, the Diori Hamani International Airport and an army base for drones at the same location came under attack from an operation conducted by Islamic State in the Sahel.

This incident was thwarted by Nigerien and Russian forces at the site, and this incident is unusual because attacks had occurred only outside of the vast country of Sahel until now.

“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, however, the government began to tear down thousands of illegal houses close to the Niamey airport.

The government claimed the slums were harboring the jihadists.

The demolition process affected 26,000 people living in four neighborhoods taking up almost a quarter of the airport space, the government said.

A perimeter fence of the airport and over 350 surveillance cameras in and around the perimeter have been put in place.

Niger together with its military-ruled allies in West Africa – Burkina Faso and Mali – has for a decade suffered violence due to jihadists.

This is why it has shifted from the former colonial ruler France to other partners including Iran, Turkey and Russia.