NIAMEY, Niger — Niger’s military leadership has leveled explosive allegations against the presidents of France and two West African nations, claiming they sponsored armed militants who launched a brazen assault on a strategic air force base in the capital. The attack early Thursday resulted in four soldiers wounded and significant damage to military aircraft.
General Abdourahamane Tchiani, Niger’s military ruler, delivered a fiery address on state television Thursday evening, directly implicating French President Emmanuel Macron, Benin’s President Patrice Talon, and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in supporting the mercenary operation. “We have sufficiently heard them bark, and they should now in turn be prepared to hear us roar,” Tchiani declared, though he presented no concrete evidence to substantiate his claims.
The assault targeted the Diori Hamani International Airport complex in Niamey, a strategically critical installation housing military bases, the headquarters of the Niger-Burkina Faso-Mali Joint Force, and substantial uranium reserves currently at the center of a diplomatic dispute with French nuclear conglomerate Orano. Security footage from the scene captured intense explosions that illuminated the night sky during the two-hour firefight that began around midnight.
Nigerien defense forces responded with decisive force, neutralizing 20 attackers and capturing 11 others according to official reports. State television additionally claimed one slain assailant was a French national, displaying graphic footage of bloodied bodies at the scene, though verification remained impossible.
The attack damaged an Air Côte d’Ivoire aircraft parked on the tarmac, with projectiles striking both the fuselage and right wing. No armed group has claimed responsibility for the assault, which occurs amid deteriorating security conditions across Africa’s Sahel region.
This incident exacerbates already strained relations between Niger’s military junta and former Western allies. Since seizing power in 2023, Niger’s leadership—along with neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso—has severed security ties with France and other Western nations while increasingly embracing Russian military support. The juntas regularly accuse Benin and Ivory Coast, both maintaining close French relations, of acting as proxies for Paris.
Security analysts note that jihadist violence has intensified dramatically across the Sahel since 2025, with al-Qaida and Islamic State-affiliated militants exploiting the political instability created by military takeovers in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. These nations have experienced worsening security conditions under military rule despite their rhetoric of strengthened sovereignty.