Niger’s state television station was off the air Saturday after heavy gunfire and explosions were reported overnight around a military base near the capital’s airport, with soldiers also blocking access to the presidential palace, according to residents and security sources.
The cause of the clashes was not immediately clear. Niger’s military urged the public to remain calm and avoid spreading unverified information, saying defense and security forces had been mobilized.
“Given the current events, let us remain calm and avoid sharing unverified information,” the military said on its official social media accounts.
A local resident told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that heavy gunfire and explosions could be heard around Air Force Base 101, located inside the international airport complex. Several other residents reported hearing sustained bursts of gunfire overnight and into Saturday morning.
The first shots were heard around 1:00 a.m. local time and continued until daybreak, according to a video posted online by a local journalist showing the area around the airport. Another resident said he heard bursts of gunfire around 7:00 a.m.
“The weapons we're hearing are not the kind that terrorists on motorbikes can carry,” the resident said. “The fighting has been non-stop since last night.”
Another resident in western Niamey reported sporadic small-arms fire around 5 a.m.
By 9 a.m., Tele Sahel, the national television broadcaster, was showing a black screen on both satellite and online platforms. Residents said soldiers had blocked roads leading to the presidential palace and the television station.
Videos circulating on social media appeared to show armored vehicles moving into areas near the airport, although the footage could not immediately be independently verified.
The developments came as Niger marks three years under military rule following a July 2023 coup led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani. The junta has struggled to contain jihadist violence that has plagued the country and the wider Sahel region for more than a decade.
Air Force Base 101 has become a particularly sensitive military site after being targeted twice this year by rival jihadist groups.
In January, Daesh in the Sahel militants attacked the base in an assault authorities said killed 20 attackers and wounded four soldiers. Tiani later acknowledged a “flaw in the system” that allowed the attack, saying the militants had sought to destroy Niger’s air capabilities.
A second attack took place in late June, when militants from the group known by its French acronym JNIM and affiliated with al-Qaida targeted the airport complex. Niger’s Defense Ministry said at least 11 soldiers and two civilians were killed, while 22 attackers were killed.
Both attacks were repelled by Niger’s military.
Daesh in the Sahel and JNIM are also active in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, which, like Niger, are governed by military juntas that seized power through coups.
The three countries have moved away from traditional Western partners, including France, in their efforts to combat jihadist groups and have strengthened ties with Russia. They also withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, after years of tensions with the regional bloc.
Air Force Base 101 also hosts personnel from Russia’s Africa Corps, as well as the command structure of the Alliance of Sahel States, a security and political alliance formed by Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.
The base has previously handled sensitive military and strategic material. Between December and January, it hosted a large shipment of uranium concentrate that was delayed while awaiting export. There has been no reported movement of the shipment since.
