Niger Military Repels Coup Attempt

Heavy gunfire rocks capital overnight, state TV signal cut briefly

29 Aug 2026 at 17:30

WRITER: AFP

Air Force Base 101, at the international airport complex in Niamey, the capital of Niger, is also the headquarters of the Russian Africa Corps, which has been helping the military government fight jihadist militias. (Photo: AFP)

Niger’s national television station went off air on Saturday after a night of heavy gunfire in parts of the capital Niamey, including around a military base near the city’s airport which has been attacked twice this year by jihadists.

A security source subsequently confirmed to AFP that the presidential guard had repelled an attempted incursion by “insurgents from within the armed forces” at the presidential palace in Niamey.

Heavy gunfire was heard in several neighbourhoods of the capital throughout the night, notably in the city centre near the presidential palace, but also in the airport area where there is a major military base.

The state television signal was cut for just over an hour before being restored at about 10am local time.

The ​defence ​ministry ‌said the armed forces were progressively ​retaking ⁠control of ‌sites targeted in the ⁠attack, according to a ​statement read on ​state ‌television after it resumed broadcasting.

Niger has been ruled for three years by a military junta that has struggled to contain jihadist violence, which has blighted the west African country for around a decade.

However, intelligence sources said Saturday’s events were not linked to jihadists but to mutinous troops from regional military bases that converged on the capital overnight.

Some factions in the military blame the leadership for the high human toll that the fight against the jihadists has taken on frontline soldiers.

“In light of current events, let us remain calm and avoid sharing unverified information,” the military said in a statement on its social media pages.

“Our defence and security forces have been mobilised for the defence of the homeland.”

One local resident told AFP that there was “heavy gunfire and explosions” at Base 101 in Niamey, a report confirmed by several other witnesses.

At 9am, a black screen replaced the programming of Tele Sahel both via satellite and online. Soldiers blocked access to the presidential palace and national television studios, 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.

“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.”

Videos online showed armoured vehicles deployed to reinforce the neighbourhood near the airport.

Rival jihadist groups

Niamey airport has been targeted twice this year by jihadists, 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 jihadist 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.

General Abdourahamane 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.

In June, at least 11 soldiers and two civilians were killed, as well as 22 attackers, according to the defence ministry. Both attacks were repelled by the army.

The EIS and JNIM are also active in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, allies of Niger and ruled by military juntas that seized power in coups.

The three countries quit the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) bloc, turned their backs on traditional Western partners in the fight against jihadist violence, especially France, and sought closer ties with Russia.

Air Force Base 101, located within the international airport complex, is home to the headquarters of Niamey’s Russian Africa Corps partners and the command of the unified force of the Alliance of Sahel States, of which Niger is a member with Burkina Faso and Mali.

The site is sensitive. Between December and January, it hosted a large shipment of uranium concentrate, which was held up while awaiting export. No movement of the shipment has been identified since.

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