Gunfire Rocks Niger Capital as Attackers Target Airport, Presidential Palace

Armed groups have attacked Diori Hamani International Airport in Niger’s capital, Niamey, while also attempting to breach the security perimeter around the presidential palace.
Gunfire and explosions were heard across several parts of the city during the attack. Reuters quoted a security source as saying that terrorists attacked the airport and attempted to breach the security perimeter around the presidential headquarters. A witness also reported hearing sustained heavy gunfire near the presidential palace.
Bana Wajana Ibrahim, a member of Niger’s Advisory Council bureau and a lawmaker in the Confederation of Sahel States Parliament, said in a Facebook post that the attackers targeted Air Base 101, a key military facility in Niamey. He added that security forces had regained control of the base.
According to Ibrahim, security forces subsequently launched search operations in the area, neutralising several attackers while others fled.
The latest development comes amid continuing insecurity in Niger, which has recorded several deadly attacks this year, including an attack near Niamey International Airport in January.
On August 22, fifteen police officers were killed when gunmen attacked a police station in Tessa, in the southwestern Dosso region near the borders with Nigeria and Benin. The incident occurred about a month after an armed attack in western Niger near Mali and Burkina Faso, where 16 soldiers were killed and 23 others wounded.