Residents in Niger’s capital, Niamey, reported hearing sustained gunfire near the Diori Hamani International Airport early Thursday morning, raising fresh concerns about security in the city months after a major militant attack at the same facility.
According to eyewitnesses who spoke to AFP, the shooting began around 6 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and was still ongoing nearly two hours later, with sounds of gunfire coming from the airport entrance area.
One resident said the situation appeared to be concentrated at the airport gate, while another confirmed hearing continuous shots from the same location.
The incident comes after a significant jihadist attack on the airport in January, which was claimed by the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS). That assault was repelled by Nigerien forces with support from allied Russian fighters.
Prior to that attack, extremist violence in Niger had largely been confined to other parts of the country rather than the capital.
Following the January incident, authorities demolished thousands of illegal structures in a nearby neighbourhood, saying the area had been infiltrated by militants who used it to plan and launch the assault.
Niger has for years faced persistent insecurity linked to armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, particularly across the wider Sahel region of West Africa.
