The Diori Hamani International Airport on the outskirts of Niamey, Niger’s capital, recently came under an attack by suspected terrorists.
- A terrorist attack occurred at Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger, resulting in significant casualties, including 24 individuals, alongside arrests and an immediate military response.
- Niger’s leadership commended Russian support during the assault’s aftermath while controversially implicating regional and global actors in alleged involvement.
- The attack’s motive links to geopolitical tensions involving uranium resources, highlighting Niger’s pivot towards Russian partnerships post-coup.
- Niger nationalized its uranium industry, challenging prior French dominance, leading to increased cooperation with Russian entities like Rosatom.
The attack, per the country’s defense ministry, led to 24 casualties, four security personnel, and the rest from the assailant’s camp.
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The assault, which is reported to have lasted approximately 30 minutes, also resulted in 11 arrests, as a joint force of Nigerien and Russian security operatives initiated an air and ground offensive against the assailants.
The country’s current head of state, General Abdourahamane, lauded efforts from Russia, while alleging that Benin, the Ivory Coast, and France were involved in the assault.
“We commend all the defence and security forces… as well as Russian partners who defended their security sector with professionalism,” General Abdourahamane said via a radio broadcast.
“We remind the sponsors of these mercenaries, notably Emmanuel Macron, Patrice Talon, and Alassane Ouattara: we’ve heard them bark quite enough; now they should get ready to listen to us,” he added.
While the motive for the attack has yet to be specified, some reports have linked it to a uranium stockpile alarmingly close to the attack site.
As reported by Bloomberg, the airport is next to an air force base where uranium taken from French company Orano SA’s mine was stored earlier this month.
Niger’s pivot from Western partnerships to anti-West sentiments following a coup that installed Abdourahamane as president led to a fallout between the government and the French mine.
History of Niger’s fallout with France’s Orano
The political landscape of Niger experienced a significant transformation in July 2023, following a successful coup orchestrated by General Abdourahamane, the nation’s current junta leader.
Initially, the European Union expressed little to no concern about the shift, noting that the military’s seizure of power had not interfered with the supply of uranium.
A few months after Niger, which possesses significant uranium reserves, accused Orano of extracting 86.3% of the uranium output since 1971 despite only holding a 63% interest, the country enacted a nationalization clause.
This clause asserted state ownership and increased control over its natural resources, especially uranium.
The policy framework cleared the path for cooperation with Russia, with conversations expanding beyond raw material extraction to include power generation, medicinal applications, and local specialist training through an arrangement with Rosatom.
By June 2024, Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear company, was in discussions with Niger regarding the acquisition of assets owned by France’s Orano SA
Niger, with its production accounting for approximately 4% of the global uranium supply, has historically been a significant source for Orano.
In December of the same year, Orano reported that it had lost operational control of the SOMAIR mine due to governance challenges and growing interference from Nigerien authorities, who had since taken over the site.
By June 2025, Niger announced that the Somair uranium joint venture, run by Orano, would be nationalized.
A month later, Orano disclosed that its majority-owned joint venture in Niger, SOMAIR, was nearing bankruptcy
In October, Orano revealed that around 1,500 metric tons of uranium remain stockpiled in its expropriated SOMAIR mine in northern Niger and threatened to seek compensation and criminal charges if the materials were taken or sold without authorization.
Prior to this, the World Bank’s arbitration body ordered Niger to stop trading uranium from the Somaïr mine.
By November, France raised concerns over reports that Niger’s military junta was negotiating the sale of about 1,000 metric tons of uranium to Russia’s state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, worth around $170 million.
At the time, Paris expressed concern about the security risks associated with transporting the sensitive materials.
France feared that uranium shipments could be intercepted or diverted by insurgent groups entrenched across the Sahel.
