Gunfire & Expolsions in Niger's Capital near Airport Raises Alarm

A sudden burst of explosions and sustained gunfire near Niamey’s main international airport underscores the fragility of security in Niger’s capital, where military infrastructure, regional counterterrorism efforts, and political uncertainty now converge. Shortly after midnight Thursday, residents near Diori Hamani International Airport reported heavy shooting and blasts that lasted roughly two hours, easing around 02.00 a.m. Videos circulating online showed tracer fire streaking across the sky, flames rising several meters high, and multiple vehicles burned and charred.

The airport lies about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Niger’s presidential palace and houses an air force base, making it one of the country’s most sensitive military sites. It also hosts the headquarters of a joint force formed by Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali to combat jihadist groups operating across the Sahel.

Several residents said they heard sirens as fire trucks moved toward the area in the early morning hours, but authorities had not announced by early Thursday what triggered the violence or whether there were casualties.

“Defend the Country” Calls Online

The unrest comes as Niger remains under military rule following the 2023 overthrow of its elected civilian government. The junta, led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, has since expelled both French and U.S. forces that previously supported counterterrorism operations, reshaping the country’s external security partnerships while facing persistent militant threats at home.

Amid the overnight chaos, an online activist supportive of the junta, Ibrahim Bana, posted a video urging residents to mobilize and “defend the country,” a call that raised concerns about escalating tensions in the capital. No official statement accompanied the appeal, and the government offered no immediate explanation for the gunfire near the airport complex.

The security backdrop is stark. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), nearly 2,000 people were killed in Niger in 2025 in attacks linked to militant groups. Those figures frame the Niamey incident within a broader pattern of instability stretching across the Sahel, where armed groups continue to target both civilian and military sites.

Supply Chains Under Pressure

Adding to the strategic sensitivity of the airport zone, a large uranium shipment with an undisclosed buyer, transported from northern Niger in late November, has been stranded at the facility for weeks. The presence of the shipment highlights the airport’s dual role as both a military node and a critical logistics point for Niger’s resource exports, increasing the stakes of any disruption.

Together, the timing, location, and duration of the violence point to the vulnerability of Niger’s core security corridor, where air power, regional counterterrorism coordination, and critical mineral logistics intersect within a 10-kilometer radius of the seat of government. With no official casualty figures or explanation released, the incident stands as a reminder of how quickly instability can surface in a capital already shaped by a 2023 coup, expelled foreign forces, and nearly 2,000 conflict-linked deaths in 2025 alone.