ABIDJAN: Mutinying soldiers led armed clashes in Niger’s capital on Saturday, alarming residents, but the ruling junta said it had largely wrested back control after hours of heavy exchanges around some of its most sensitive sites.
But while the fighting had subsided, the rebel troops were said by a regional security source and an African diplomatic source to still be holding two barracks around Niamey, including one at a large air base near the capital’s airport.
When the fighting broke out, shortly after midnight, soldiers blocked access to the presidential palace and to the national television station, Tele Sahel, which went off the air for just over an hour, before being restored around 10am. Niger’s ruling junta later declared, in a statement read on state television, that it “gradually took back control” after hours of clashes.
“There was an attempt by insurgents from the Nigerien armed forces to enter the presidential palace,” a security source said, adding that “they were pushed back by the presidential guard”.
Led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, the West African nation’s military govt marks three years in power amid ongoing security challenges
