Clashes erupted in Niger’s capital on Saturday between the presidential guard and elements of the armed forces, after a night of heavy gunfire in parts of the city.
Niger has been ruled for three years by a military junta that has struggled to contain terrorism, which has blighted the west African country for around a decade.
“There was an attempt by insurgents from the Nigerien armed forces to enter the presidential palace,” a security source told AFP. “They were pushed back by the presidential guard. Exchanges of gunfire are continuing at the palace.”
An African diplomat in Niamey said that for now, the presidential guard was still loyal to ruler General Abdourahamane Tiani.
The military said it was “gradually regaining control” after the mutineers took soldiers hostage at a base next to the capital’s airport.
In a statement read out on public television and signed by Defence Minister General Salifou Mody, the authorities called on the public to “remain calm and freely go about their business”.
Gunfire began in the early hours of Saturday, prompting the military to issue a statement on its social media pages urging people to stay calm and “avoid sharing unverified information”.
“Our defence and security forces have been mobilised for the defence of the homeland,” the statement said.
One local resident told AFP that there was “heavy gunfire and explosions” at Base 101 in Niamey, a report confirmed by several other witnesses.
National TV station Tele Sahel went off air for just over an hour, with a black screen replacing normal programming both via satellite and online. It was restored around 10am (2pm PKT). Soldiers blocked access to the presidential palace and national television, residents added.
The first shots were heard at about 1am local time and continued until daybreak, according to a video published by a local journalist filming the area around the airport. Another local resident said he heard “bursts of gunfire” at about 7am local time.
“I went to get credit for my phone. I saw a military vehicle heading towards the base that had to turn back,” he added. “The weapons we’re hearing are not the kind that terrorists on motorbikes can carry. The fighting has been non-stop since last night.”
Another resident in the west of Niamey said he heard sporadic small arms fire at about 5am.
Several social media posts also reported shooting and explosions in the city, particularly in the administrative area where the presidential palace and national television station are located. Videos online showed armoured vehicles deployed to reinforce the neighbourhood near the airport.
Niamey airport has been targeted twice this year by terrorists; first by the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS) in January, then in late June by their rivals the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), the Sahel branch of Al-Qaeda.
The groups not only target civilians and the military but are also struggling for dominance over each other in the Sahel, and especially in Niger.
Twenty assailants were killed and four soldiers wounded in the January assault, authorities said at the time.
Tiani, head of the military regime that emerged from a coup in July 2023, spoke in January of “a flaw in the system” that “enabled the attack”, whose “objective was to destroy all of the air capabilities” of the army.
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