Tensions are escalating with Niger’s military junta, which seized control in 2023. Following an assault on the airport in Niamey, the regime’s leader commended Russia for its military assistance and directly accused the presidents of France, Bénin, and Côte d’Ivoire of sponsoring the attackers. The junta reported that four of its soldiers were injured in the clash, while twenty assailants, including an individual identified as French, were killed and others were captured.
The events took place overnight between Wednesday and Thursday. In a statement broadcast on public television, Télé Sahel, Niger’s Minister of Defense, General Salifou Modi, confirmed that a “group of remote-controlled mercenaries attacked airbase 101 in Niamey” for approximately thirty minutes before being met with a combined air and ground response.
General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the junta, stated, “We congratulate all the defense and security forces… as well as our Russian partners who professionally defended their security sector.” He added a direct warning: “We remind the sponsors of these mercenaries, notably Emmanuel Macron, Patrice Talon, Alassane Ouattara: we have heard them barking enough, let them now prepare to listen to us.”
A Volatile Mix of Advanced Equipment and Uranium
The identity of the attackers has not been formally established. The Niamey airport is a highly strategic location, home to a Nigerien air force base, a newly constructed drone facility, and the headquarters of the Unified Force created by Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali to enhance regional security against jihadist groups. Crucially, the site also stores a significant shipment of uranium, a key export for Niger. This uranium, estimated to be at least 1,000 tonnes, is at the heart of a major conflict with the French nuclear fuel company Orano, which claims the Nigerien state illegally expropriated it. Orano recently reiterated its intent to pursue legal action against Niger and “anyone who would want to get their hands” on the stockpile.
The Nigerien minister added that the “vigorous air-land response led to the neutralization of 20 mercenaries and the arrest of 11 others, the majority of whom are seriously injured, as well as the recovery of significant war materials.” Nevertheless, many observers believe a jihadist attack is the most credible scenario. The country faces ongoing violence from the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), linked to Al Qaida, and the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS) in its western regions near the capital and in the southeast. However, as of Thursday evening, no jihadist organization had claimed responsibility for the assault.
