At least eleven soldiers and two civilians were killed in a new attack by suspected jihadists on Thursday June 18 against the airport of Niamey, capital of Niger, six months after a first offensive claimed by the Islamic State group. Niger has been led for almost three years by a junta which is struggling to stem the jihadist violence hitting the country.
At the end of January, Niamey airport and the adjoining military base had already been targeted for several hours by a large-scale attack repelled by the Nigerien army and its Russian partners.
Thursday morning, the perpetrators of the attack “some of whom were equipped with explosive belts, attempted an incursion into the airport terminal” of Niamey but “the prompt reaction of the security forces made it possible to prevent the attackers from reaching the terminal”, indicated the ministry of defense in a press release read on national television.
“The provisional assessment of this attempted treacherous incursion is as follows: on the friendly side, 13 martyrs including 11 elements of the defense and security forces and 2 civilians, 4 injured. On the enemy side, 22 attackers neutralized, around twenty suspects arrested,” he detailed.
According to the ministry, which specifies that a “vast operation by defense and security forces” is underway, “the situation is under control” and “the international airport, completely secure, remains open to air traffic”. The specialized site Flightradar indicates, however, that several flights to Niamey were diverted or delayed.
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The first gunshots began at 6:00 a.m. and lasted at least two hours. The shooting took place at a checkpoint, on the only access road to the airport, a few hundred meters from the entrance to the terminal.
According to an airport source, the armed attackers arrived at the police force “on board taxis” before being confronted with “fierce resistance” from the security forces. Calm had returned around 10:00 a.m. in the area, and according to the same airport source, the attackers “scattered into the surrounding neighborhoods where security forces are carrying out extensive searches.”
“Many attackers were (killed), others captured with the help of the population,” indicated the same source, which was confirmed by a motorcycle taxi driver in the area.
This incident occurs less than six months after the January 29 attack which left its mark in Niger, when the capital’s airport was struck for the first time by jihadists. It caused four injuries and extensive material damage, according to the authorities.
The Nigerien military regime, which did not communicate about this attack on Thursday, has been facing jihadists since the mid-2010s, against whom it is struggling to fight, like its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali. In April, the JNIM (Support Group for Islam and Muslims) hit neighboring Mali, also governed by a junta, hard, even in the capital Bamako.
Since coming to power, the regime has moved closer to Russia, Turkey and Iran, after having kicked out the French army, engaged in the anti-jihadist fight. He maintains frosty relations with Paris.
