Niger mutiny hits key Niamey base as junta struggles with worsening violence

Niamey,UPDATED: Aug 29, 2026 21:14 IST

Soldiers in Niger rebelled against officers at a key military base and fired at sensitive locations in the capital Niamey in an apparent mutiny, authorities said on Saturday, in a fresh threat to the country’s military rulers. Sustained gunfire and explosions were heard overnight into Saturday, including at the main airport, which houses a military air base, and in an area where the presidential palace is located.

Security forces were deployed to key locations, while the authorities said they had begun to regain control. The unrest comes as Niger’s junta, which seized power in a 2023 coup and later turned to Russia after cutting ties with Western security partners, faces growing pressure over its inability to contain jihadi violence and repeated killings of security personnel.

Defence Minister Gen. Salifou Mody said a group of soldiers had taken some officers hostage at the base and shot at “sensitive sites” in a “break with the discipline and military regulations”. He said the Defence and Security Forces were able to “gradually regain control of these sites”. By Saturday afternoon, several analysts and two witnesses said the situation in the city remained tense, and the whereabouts of Niger’s military leader Abdourahamane Tchiani were not immediately clear.

Security forces were deployed around the airport and in the Plateau district, while a major road leading to Niamey was closed. Many residents stayed indoors over safety concerns. The ruling military council, the Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, called for calm and unity in a Facebook post, saying, “Our Defense and Security Forces are mobilized for the Defense of the Fatherland. Let us remain united, vigilant and supportive.” State broadcaster RTN stopped its live transmission for some time on Saturday morning before later resuming broadcasts.

This was the third time this year that the base at Diori Hamani Airport had come under attack, after two earlier assaults by jihadi rebels. The airport is a strategic hub that hosts a Nigerien air force base and the headquarters of the joint Niger-Burkina Faso-Mali military force. All three countries are under military rule after a series of coups in the Sahel, but they continue to struggle with insecurity.

Before the 2023 coup, Niger had been the West’s last reliable partner in the region in the fight against jihadists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group in the Sahel. Since then, the country’s security forces, aided by Russia’s Africa Corps, have been stretched on multiple fronts by jihadi groups whose repeated attacks over the past year have caused mass casualties in the military. “The attacks are becoming commonplace and will continue to fuel unrest and aggravate tensions within the army ranks,” said Heni Nsaibia, West Africa senior analyst at Armed Conflict Location and Event Data. “Deteriorating insecurity drove the coups that swept across the central Sahel, and the latest events show how these same pressures are now fuelling unrest within the militaries that seized power,” Nsaibia said.

The mutiny has added to the pressure on Niger’s military authorities, with the overnight firing in Niamey, the tense situation in the city and the fresh attack on a key base underscoring the security strains facing the junta.

With PTI Inputs

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