Gunfire reported near Niger’s capital airport, residents say

Gunfire was reported early Thursday at Niamey’s Diori Hamani International Airport, according to residents who spoke to AFP. The shots were first heard at about 6 o’clock (0500 GMT) and continued for at least two hours, one resident told AFP by telephone.

Another resident confirmed that the gunfire was coming from the airport entrance.

The incident follows a major attack on the same airport in January, which was claimed by the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS) and was repelled by Nigerien forces and allied Russian fighters.

Prior to that, jihadist violence in Niger had largely been confined to other regions of the country. After the January attack, authorities demolished thousands of illegally built homes in a sprawling neighbourhood near the airport, citing infiltration by jihadists as the reason for the attack.

Niger, a large country in West Africa’s Sahel region, has been fighting violence from armed groups linked to Al‑Qaeda and the Islamic State for the past decade.

AFP

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