#niger

#niger

Niger's military government has accused France, Benin and Ivory Coast of sponsoring an assault on a military base at Niamey's international airport, while thanking Russian partners for repelling the attack. General Abdourahamane Tiani, who seized power in a 2023 coup, made his claims on state television on Thursday, blaming France's President Emmanuel Macron, Benin's Patrice Talon and Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara. He did not offer any evidence to back up those claims.

Gunfire and loud blasts have been heard at the main airport in the Nigerien capital of Niamey, according to the Reuters news agency and an independent source. A witness told Reuters they heard explosions just after midnight. The airport is next to Base Aerienne 101, a military base previously used by American and then Russian troops. A source with the Togolese airline Asky told the Guardian that gunshots made several holes in the fuselage of its two planes on the tarmac of Niamey airport.

People, property, and services may be requisitioned during general mobilisation to contribute to the defence of the homeland, in compliance with the legislation and regulations in force, the government said in a statement issued late on Saturday. Every citizen is required to respond immediately to any call-up or recall order, to comply without delay with the implementation of measures for the defence of the homeland, and to submit to requisition, it added.

In a corner of the sprawling grounds of Niamey's only museum a unique, open-air style arrangement in Niger's capital that doubles as a zoo imposing fossil replicas of long-extinct animals stand in a corrugated iron stall. On a recent late Friday afternoon, the Boubou Hama National Museum was busy with scores of excited children. They shrilled, delighted by the rubbery grunts of the hippos near the replicas, and the faint roars of the lions further up.

The 2,000 refugees stranded in Niger protest for basic necessities, feeling abandoned by the Nigerien government, the EU, and UNHCR as they lack food, healthcare, and education.