By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
Armed bandits linked to Al-Qaeda have launched an onslaught against the West African country of the Niger Republic since Wednesday, and by Thursday, the country’s Diori Hamani International Airport, located in its capital, Niamey, was attacked, leading to the death of at least 13 people.
During the attack on Thursday, no fewer than 11 soldiers were reported killed by the attackers, along with two civilians. However, no fewer than 22 of the armed attackers were reported killed by the military during the attack, while about 20 were claimed by Niger’s authorities to have been arrested. As of Friday, the country’s military has intensified manhunt against the attackers. The JNIM terrorist group linked to Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming it carried out a “suicide attack” in Niamey’s airport as well as a nearby military base.
The attack forced several Niamey airport-bound aircraft to be delayed or rerouted, causing a serious disruption to the airport operations on Thursday. However, a semblance of calm has now returned to the airport.
Niger Republic went through a military coup that installed Abdourahamane Tiani as the country’s head of state in 2023. However, despite the switch from civilian to military rule, the country still suffers from assaults from Jihadists. Only a few weeks ago, the government commenced the dismantling of shanties around the airport out of fear of a possible terror attack. The effort, however, did not deter the terrorists from attacking the airport on Thursday.
The Sahel region, especially Mali, Niger, and Northern Nigeria, is facing an intense war on terrorism that has been on for over a decade.
