Heavy gunfire and blasts heard near airport in Niger’s capital

Sustained heavy gunfire and loud explosions have been heard in Niger near the international airport outside the capital, Niamey.

Multiple eyewitness accounts and videos showed air defence systems apparently engaging unidentified projectiles in the early hours of Thursday.

The situation later calmed down, reports say, with an official reportedly saying the situation was now under control, without elaborating.

It is not clear what caused the blasts, or if there were any casualties. There has been no official statement from the military government.

The gunfire and blasts began shortly after midnight, according to residents of a neighbourhood near the Diori Hamani International Airport, the AFP news agency reports. They said calm returned after two hours.

The airport houses an air force base and is located about 10km (six miles) from the presidential palace.

Niger is led by Abdourahamane Tiani who seized power in a 2023 coup that ousted the country’s elected civilian president.

Like its neighbours Burkina Faso and Mali, the country has been fighting jihadist groups who have carried out deadly attacks across the region.

It is also a major producer of uranium.

A huge uranium shipment destined for export has been stuck at the airport amid unresolved legal and diplomatic complications with France after the military government nationalised the country’s uranium mines.

“The situation is under control. There is no need to worry,” the Anadolu news agency quoted a Foreign Affairs ministry official as saying, without elaborating.

The official told the agency they were trying to determine whether the gunfire was linked to the uranium shipment.