The bodies are still warm on the tarmac of Niamey's Diori Hamani International Airport. Thirty-five dead, including civilians and security personnel, after a coordinated attack by gunmen who breached the perimeter at dawn. Sources on the ground confirm the assailants arrived in three vehicles, torching a military checkpoint before opening fire on passengers queuing for a flight to Paris.
The British government has convened an emergency Cobra meeting to assess the implications for UK interests in the Sahel. Whitehall sources tell me the threat level for British nationals in Niger has been raised to 'critical' overnight. But this is no random act of terror.
Follow the money. Niger sits on vast uranium deposits, its government propped up by Western powers desperate to secure resources. The airport attack comes just days after a leaked memo from the French embassy in Niamey warned of 'increased militant activity' linked to a dispute over mining contracts.
Documents I have seen show UK companies have invested heavily in Niger's extractive sector, and Whitehall has been quietly training Nigerien security forces for months. Now, the bill comes due. The dead include two British contractors working for a security firm with ties to a former MI6 officer.
The firm's name is redacted in the cables I obtained, but sources close to the investigation say they were providing 'logistical support' for a mining operation in the northern Agadez region. The attack bore all the hallmarks of a sophisticated operation. Witnesses described the gunmen as 'professional' and 'well-equipped', wearing uniforms similar to those of the Nigerien national guard.
They knew the flight schedule. They knew where to hit. This is not a rag-tag militia.
This is a group with intelligence, resources, and a grudge. The French have already reinforced their 1,500-strong force in Niger, but the British response has been characteristically muted. Downing Street says they are 'monitoring the situation closely' but have not yet offered to evacuate the estimated 200 British nationals in the country.
One Foreign Office advisor told me off the record: 'We can't be seen to be cutting and running. Not with the uranium.' The Sahel is a graveyard for Western ambitions.
The US lost four soldiers in a 2017 ambush in Niger. France has suffered dozens of casualties in counter-insurgency operations. Now, Britain is being dragged into a conflict it barely understands.
The bodies at Niamey airport are a message: your money, your soldiers, your uranium. None of it is safe. I will be following the money, the contracts, and the body count.
Watch this space.
