US EditionHeavy gunfire and blasts heard near airport in Niger's capital
Security forces repelled an attack near Niamey airport involving heavy gunfire and explosions amid ongoing jihadist violence; 20 attackers were reportedly killed, officials said.
- On Thursday, sustained heavy gunfire and loud explosions were heard near Diori Hamani International Airport shortly after midnight; the airport houses an air force base about 10km from the presidential palace.
- With the cause unclear, authorities said it is not clear what caused the blasts or if there were casualties, and they are trying to determine whether the gunfire was linked to a huge uranium shipment stuck amid complications with France.
- Multiple eyewitness videos showed air-defence systems engaging unidentified projectiles early Thursday, and a Foreign Affairs ministry official said, `There is no need to worry,` while authorities investigate links to the shipment.
- Calm returned after two hours, and an official said the situation was under control following the overnight gunfire near Niamey International Airport.
- The incident came against a backdrop of Niger's military government fighting jihadist groups like Burkina Faso and Mali, while a major uranium shipment remains stuck amid legal disputes with France.
58 Articles
58 Articles
Niger’s junta accuses foreign leaders of sponsoring airport attack
Niger’s military ruler Abdourahamane Tiani on Thursday blamed the French, Benin and Ivory Coast presidents for sponsoring the attack on Niamey international airport, an accusation he made without offering any evidence. Gunfire and loud explosions echoed around Niger’s international airport in Niamey shortly before midnight in what two security sources described as a “terrorist attack”, before calm returned to the capital on Thursday morning. Ti…
The military regime in Niger, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, strongly criticized the French presidency on Thursday after a probable jihadist attack that targeted the airport of the capital Niamey during the night.
Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, the capital of Niger, suffered a terrorist attack this Thursday morning, damaging at least three commercial aircraft that were stationed there. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, the offensives of jihadist groups in Niger are frequent, in particular by the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and the Province of Islamic State of the Sahel. Niamey Airport houses a militar…
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