Gunfire Reported Near Airport in Niger Capital Amid Rising Security Tensions

(Gunfire near airport. Photo by Arise News)

Several months after a significant terrorist attack at the airport, locals told AFP that gunfire broke out early on Thursday at Niamey, the capital of Niger.

Around six o’clock (0500 GMT), I heard the first bullets. Two hours later, a resident informed AFP over the phone, “The shooting was coming from the airport entrance.”

The gunshots was coming from the airport entrance, according to another resident.

The Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS) claimed responsibility for an unprecedented attack on the capital’s Diori Hamani international airport in January, which was defeated by Nigerian military forces and supported Russian fighters.

Jihadist violence in Niger has hitherto been limited to other regions of the nation.

In a vast neighborhood close to the airport, thousands of illegally constructed homes were demolished after the attack.

According to authorities, the attack was carried out by jihadists who had infiltrated the district.

For ten years, armed groups connected to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group have been causing bloodshed in Niger, a large country in the Sahel area of west Africa.