An American missionary was kidnapped in Niger’s capital Niamey, three security sources said on Wednesday. The missionary, who is a pilot for the evangelical missionary agency Serving in Mission, was seized by three unidentified men as he headed to the airport on Tuesday night in Niger’s Plateau neighbourhood, a diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity…
Intelligence agencies from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso say they are preparing to reveal the names of senior Nigerian politicians alleged to be supporting bandit groups operating in Nigeria’s North-West. According to Zagazola Makama, a counter insurgency reporter, officials of the security agencies disclosed that they are already in possession of the names of some…
Gunmen riding motorbikes have killed 22 villagers in western Niger, most of them attending a baptism ceremony on Tuesday. The attack took place on Monday in Takoubatt village, Tillaberi region, near the borders with Burkina Faso and Mali, an area plagued by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). A local resident…
Boko Haram Leader, Ibrahim Bakoura Doro, alias Abu Oumaimah, has denied reports by the Government of Niger Republic that he was killed in recent military operations in the country’s Diffa region. The Nigerien Armed Forces (FAN) had, on Thursday, announced that Bakoura was eliminated alongside several insurgent commanders during precision airstrikes carried out on Aug….
The Government of Niger Republic says its armed forces have allegedly killed a senior Boko Haram leader, Ibrahim Bakoura, also known as Abu Oumaima, during a military operation in the country’s Diffa region. Nigerien Armed Forces (FAN), disclosed this in a statement released on Tuesday, saying the operation was carried out on Aug. 15 through…
Niger’s lawyers have announced a two-day strike on Thursday and Friday to protest against the military government’s dissolution of the West African country’s justice unions. The lawyers accuse the junta, which seized power in the jihadist-hit Sahel nation in a July 2023 coup, of threatening the independence of the justice system. Last week, the junta’s…
The Nigerien junta have detained three journalists working for the independent Sahara FM radio station, marking the latest crackdown on press freedom since the military seized power in 2023. The journalists — Hamid Mahmoud, the station’s news editor; Mahaman Sani, who filed the report; and Massaouda Jaharou — were arrested this week in the northern…
In a landmark move that clearly reflects Niger’s growing desire to reclaim its cultural and political narrative, the country has formally removed French as an official language—elevating Hausa, a widely spoken indigenous language, to national status. This sweeping decision was made official through the Refoundation Charter, a government framework published recently in Niger’s Official Journal…
Leader of Niger’s ruling junta, Abdourahamane Tiani, has been officially sworn in as transitional president for five years under a newly established charter. Tiani, a former presidential guard commander who led the 2023 coup, was also elevated to the highest military rank of army general. GISTSMATE MEDIA reports that following his inauguration, he signed a…
Thirteen Nigerien soldiers were killed in two separate clashes with jihadist groups, the army said Wednesday. During the first incident, at a gold mining site in the western Tillaberi region, “nine soldiers fell in combat” with Islamic State affiliates, the army said in an operations bulletin. The March 15 attack involved reinforcements arriving from across…