Niger’s security forces battle mutinous soldiers in the capi…

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — A group of soldiers in Niger rebelled against officers at a key military base and fired at sensitive locations in the capital, Niamey, in an apparent mutiny and threat to the country’s struggling junta, authorities said Saturday.

Sustained gunfire and explosions were heard overnight into Saturday, including at Niamey’s main airport that houses the military air base and in a district where the presidential palace is located. Security forces were deployed to key locations.

By Saturday evening, the situation remained tense with the mutineers camped at the airport while the presidential guard remained in control of the presidency, according to several analysts and one diplomat. The whereabouts of military leader Abdourahamane Tchiani are unclear.

The unrest appeared to have been triggered by grievances over the country’s security woes and the incessant killing of security forces, analysts said. Some of the mutinous soldiers came from the southwest of the country, among the regions worst-hit by insecurity, according to one European diplomat.

Niger’s junta came to power after a 2023 coup which it said was prompted by the elected government’s inability to stem armed violence. Since then, the impoverished West African country of more than 25 million people has severed ties with longtime Western security partners, turning instead to Russia. But the junta has been unable to stem jihadi violence and rampant killing of security forces, fueling unrest within the military, observers say.

Niger’s Defense Minister Gen. Salifou Mody said a group of soldiers took some officers hostage at the base and shot at “sensitive sites” in a “break with the discipline and military regulations.”

Security forces were deployed around the airport and in the Plateau district, and the situation at key military barracks remained unclear.

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The ruling military council, known as the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland, called for unity. “Our Defense and Security Forces are mobilized for the Defense of the Fatherland. Let us remain united, vigilant and supportive,” it said in a Facebook post.

State broadcaster RTN stopped its live transmission for some time on Saturday morning, but later resumed its broadcast.