JUST-IN: Heavy Gunfire, Explosions Near Niger Capital City’s Airport

Residents of Niger Republic’s capital, Niamey, were jolted awake in the early hours of Thursday as heavy gunfire and multiple explosions erupted near the city’s international airport, which also houses an Air Force base.

The shooting began shortly after midnight around the Diori Hamani International Airport, located about 10 kilometres from the presidential palace, residents told AFP.

Videos circulating on social media showed streaks of light cutting through the night sky amid loud explosions. Other footage captured flames several metres high and vehicles reduced to charred shells.

“We heard loud bursts of gunfire and explosions coming from the direction of the airport,” said one resident of the nearby district. “Then around 2 a.m., everything went quiet again.”

Fire trucks with sirens blaring were reportedly seen rushing toward the airport shortly after the shooting began.

As of Thursday morning, it remained unclear what triggered the gunfire or whether there were any casualties.

In a Facebook video, pro-junta activist Ibrahim Bana called on citizens to take to the streets “to defend the country,” though it was not immediately clear against whom his appeal was directed.

The Diori Hamani International Airport also serves as the command hub for a joint regional force comprising troops from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso — part of ongoing efforts to combat jihadist groups operating across the Sahel.

LEADERSHIP reports that Niger has been under military rule since July 2023, when General Abdourahamane Tiani led a coup that ousted the country’s elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. Since then, the junta has expelled both French and U.S. forces that had been stationed in the country to help fight insurgents.

Niamey’s junta government has instead forged closer military and political ties with neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, both also ruled by soldiers, forming the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and announcing plans for a 5,000-strong joint force to tackle regional insecurity.

According to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), nearly 2,000 people were killed in jihadist violence across Niger in 2025.

In recent weeks, tensions have reportedly been heightened by the presence of a large uranium shipment stranded at the Niamey airport since late November, with its destination and buyer still unknown.

As of press time, Nigerien authorities had not issued any official statement on the cause of Thursday’s gunfire.