Mutinous soldiers attack airport, presidency in Niger capital, sources say

Sustained gunfire and explosions rang out early Saturday across several areas of Niger's capital, including the airport and near the presidency, in what four sources described as an attack by mutinous soldiers.

State television and radio were offline as of 8 a.m. local time (0800 GMT), though the government issued a statement urging calm and saying security forces were mobilising in response.

The attack marked the latest threat to the rule of Abdourahamane Tiani, who seized power in a 2023 coup. Tiani had pledged to improve security in the Sahel nation, a major uranium producer, but jihadist attacks have persisted. Earlier this year, affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State both carried out attacks on the civilian airport and military airbase.

The early morning assault lasted for hours, involving soldiers from the localities of Ouallam, Tera and Dosso in the southwest, according to a Niger security source and Yvan Guichaoua, senior researcher at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies.

Troops in this area have sustained heavy casualties in battles with the regional Islamic State affiliate.

NIGER OFFICIAL DECRIES 'COWARDLY ATTACK'

Earlier, a separate Niger security source told Reuters that "terrorists" had attacked the airport and attempted to breach the security perimeter around the presidency. One Reuters witness reported heavy gunfire in the area near the presidency.

Bana Wagana Ibrahim, a member of Niger's Bureau of the Consultative Council and a deputy in the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) Parliament, said on Facebook that attackers had targeted the military airbase, known as Base 101, but that security forces had regained control.

"Another cowardly attack on Base 101 and once again our defence and security forces ensured ... Situation under control," Ibrahim wrote.

However, a Reuters witness reported further gunfire at the airport and heavy explosions in the pre-dawn hours after Ibrahim's post was published.

As of 0900 GMT, the presidential palace appeared to have been secured by loyalist troops but state television had fallen to the mutineers and the area around the airport was still contested, two security sources and a diplomat said. 

Reuters could not independently verify these accounts.

A Niger government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NIGER IS KEY URANIUM PRODUCER

Niger, a mineral-rich West African nation with significant uranium, oil and gold resources, has been ruled by military officers since the July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum.

Like its neighbours Burkina Faso and Mali, it has failed to turn the tide in its battle against Islamist insurgencies linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State despite pledges by military rulers to improve security.

West Africa's al Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for an attack on the airport in Niamey in June, five months after Islamic State Sahel Province targeted the same site.

Since seizing power, Tiani's government has shifted away from Western partners, deepened ties with Russia and broken with the regional ECOWAS bloc, joining Mali and Burkina Faso to form the breakaway AES bloc.

The unrest comes as authorities tighten control over its uranium sector, having seized assets from France's Orano. Niger had been a key supplier of nuclear fuel to Europe, accounting for about 15% of Orano's uranium supply at full capacity.

Last week, the government reallocated former Orano and GoviEx uranium permits to state-backed companies, according to a decree.