NIAMEY: A burst of heavy gunfire and explosions erupted early Thursday near the international airport in Niger’s capital Niamey before halting within hours, residents told AFP.
Videos filmed by residents of the area showed streaks of light in the sky with the sound of loud explosions, while other images showed flames several metres high and charred cars.
The capital’s Diori Hamani International Airport houses an airforce base and is located about 10 kilometres (six miles) from the presidential palace.
Niger, a country hit regularly by militant attacks, has been led for more than two years by Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of a junta that overthrew the country’s elected civilian president in 2023.
The shooting began shortly after midnight, according to residents of a neighbourhood near the airport.
Six Niger soldiers, 10 suspected militants killed in fighting
Calm returned two hours later, they told AFP.
It was not immediately clear what had caused the gunfire and whether there were any casualties.
The sound of sirens from fire trucks heading towards the airport could also be heard in the early hours of the morning, according to local residents.
An online activist who supports the military rule, Ibrahim Bana, posted a video on Facebook in which he called on people to turn out on the streets of the capital to “defend the country.”
Militant violence
The country’s largest international airport is also the headquarters of a joint force created by Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali to combat militant groups waging deadly violence in the region.
Since taking over the country, Niger’s military leadership has forced out French and US forces who had been helping to combat the militants.
Niger and its neighbours, also led by military juntas, have teamed up to create their own confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), and have announced the creation of a 5,000-strong force for joint military operations.
Nigeria says not ruling out force in Niger ahead of West African summit
According to ACLED, an NGO that tracks conflict casualties globally, militant violence killed nearly 2,000 people in 2025 in Niger.
A huge uranium shipment with an unknown buyer, that left the country’s north in late November, has also been stuck at the airport for weeks.
American Dollar Exchange Rate