Niger attack endangered uranium stockpile near main airport

Unidentified attackers who staged an assault on Niger’s capital came dangerously close to a stockpile of uranium removed from French company Orano SA’s mine.

Heavy gunfire and explosions erupted near Niamey’s Diori Hamani International Airport early Thursday. The facility is adjacent to an air force base where Agence France-Presse reported the concentrated uranium powder, known as yellowcake, was stored earlier this month.

At least 20 attackers died in the assault, with 11 others wounded and captured, Defense Minister Salifou Modi said in a statement read on state television. Four members of Niger’s security forces were injured, he said.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack via Amaq News Agency, a media outlet linked to the group.

Niger’s military leadership took over Orano’s Somair mine in 2024, after accusing the French nuclear company of planning to halt operations and sell its shares without following proper procedures.

The West African nation later removed uranium from the site, despite an International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes arbitration tribunal’s ruling preventing it from taking any such steps. Its actions raised concerns about radioactive material being transported by road through jihadist-controlled regions.

Niger’s government “unilaterally decided to nationalize” the Somair mine in June 2025, leaving Orano without operational control, and the company is unable to comment on its activities, it said in an emailed response to questions.

This week’s attack targeted the airport area and an adjacent military base that involved gunmen on motorbikes and drone strikes. An Air Côte d’Ivoire aircraft parked on the tarmac was hit, the carrier said in a statement. Two Asky Airlines planes waiting on the tarmac were also damaged, according to a government statement.

AFP cited eyewitness as saying shooting began shortly after midnight on Thursday and streaks of light and flames were seen several meters high. Multiple cars were set alight, the news agency said.

A spokesperson for the state-owned Société du Patrimoine Minier du Niger, which manages the country’s interests in mining companies, didn’t respond to phone calls and a text message seeking comment. Phone calls to two government representatives and an army spokesman went unanswered.

Military ruler Abdourahamane Tiani has pivoted Niger toward Russia and cut security ties with former allies, including the US and France, since ousting President Mohamed Bazoum in a 2023 coup.

Niger also quit the regional bloc Ecowas and joined Mali and Burkina Faso in forming the Alliance of Sahel States, a military-led coalition that’s building economic and security cooperation as the three nations battle insurgents linked to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State, that have killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands across West Africa’s Sahel region.

Tiani thanked Niger’s Russian partners for “their prompt reaction, which allowed us to completely rout the enemy within 20 minutes.”

(By Katarina Höije and Kamailoudini Tagba)