Brazen attack on Niger’s airport shows militants are expanding to cities in Africa’s Sahel
DAKAR: The gunfire and explosions that ripped through Niger’s main international airport are the latest sign of armed groups increasingly targeting cities and urban centers in Africa’s Sahel region, where they are competing for influence and territories, analysts say.
The Al-Qaeda-linked JNIM militant group, the most potent in the Sahel region south of the Sahara desert, claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack at Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey that killed 11 soldiers and two civilians.
It was the second attack this year at the airport, a strategic hub that serves as the ruling military’s command, hosting its air force base and most of its drones and aircraft. It’s also the headquarters of the regional alliance that brings together troops from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.
A similar attack in January, which was claimed by the Daesh group’s Sahel Province (Daesh-SP), also saw motorcycle-riding gunmen storm the airport facility as they targeted expensive drones. The attacks in Niger, unseen at this scale in recent years, follow a major raid and continuing fuel blockade by Al-Qaeda inside and around Mali’s capital of Bamako.
