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Niamey airport and the presidential palace were targeted on Saturday, as well as the national television station, which went off the air for just over an hour.
Niger's ruling junta said it was back in control after mutinous soldiers set off armed clashes in Niger's capital, Niamey, on Saturday, August 29, moving on the presidential palace and disrupting the state broadcaster.
After hours of heavy exchanges around some of Niamey's most sensitive sites, the junta declared in a statement read on state television that it was gradually taking back control after hours of clashes.
By Saturday evening, diplomatic and security sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that members of Niger's presidential guard helped by Russian forces had recaptured the key Air Force Base 101, killing some of the mutineers.
When fighting broke out shortly after midnight, soldiers blocked access to the presidential palace and the national television station, Tele Sahel, which went off the air for just over an hour, before being restored around 10:00 am. "There was an attempt by insurgents from the Nigerien armed forces to enter the presidential palace," a security source told AFP, adding that the presidential guard had pushed them back.
Niger's defense minister, General Salifou Mody, said on state television that a group of soldiers had held some troops hostage at a barracks in Niamey, opening fire at "certain sensitive sites" in the city, without specifying which ones. Troops and security forces had quickly taken back control, he added, calling on local people to remain calm.
Jihadist violence
The first shots were heard at about 1:00 am local time and continued until daybreak, according to a video published by a local journalist filming the area around the airport.
The military issued a statement on its social media pages urging people to stay calm and "avoid sharing unverified information."
Base 101, located within the international airport complex, is home to the headquarters of Russia's Africa Corps in Niamey. The base is also the command of the unified force of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), of which Niger is a member with Burkina Faso and Mali.
On Saturday evening, the AES confederation said in a statement that it had been the target of "betrayal by a group of soldiers involved in a destabilization plot" that was ultimately "contained and thwarted."
Niger has been ruled for three years by a military junta led by General Abdourahamane Tiani that has struggled to contain jihadist violence flaring in the west African country for around a decade.
Turkey's foreign ministry – one of the AES's partners – expressed hope that "calm would be restored as soon as possible" and affirmed that it would "continue to stand in solidarity with Niger." Neighboring Algeria condemned Saturday's events and pledged support for the Niamey government.
Le Monde with AFP
