At least 35 people are dead after a brazen assault on a military airbase near Niamey, the capital of Niger. Sources on the ground confirm that armed insurgents breached the perimeter of Diori Hamani International Airport at dawn, engaging Nigerien security forces in a firefight that lasted for hours. The attack, claimed by a faction linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, targeted a section of the base used by French and US special forces. The UK has placed its own special operations units on standby, according to Ministry of Defence briefings obtained by this desk.
The death toll is expected to rise. Medical personnel at the main hospital in Niamey report that at least 50 wounded have been admitted, many with catastrophic injuries. Among the dead: Nigerien soldiers, two French contractors, and an unknown number of civilians caught in the crossfire. The attack represents a significant escalation in a region already drowning in blood and corruption.
Documents leaked from within the Sahel security apparatus indicate that the airport base has been a hub for covert US drone operations and French counter-terrorism missions. The assault was meticulously planned: surveillance footage shows the attackers wearing stolen Nigerien military uniforms, allowing them to approach a checkpoint unchallenged. They then unleashed a volley of rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-gun fire before a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle-borne IED at the main hangar.
The UK's involvement is no coincidence. Whitehall sources confirm that a contingent of SAS and SBS operators were already in the region, ostensibly for “training exercises.” Now they are on a high state of readiness, tasked with protecting British and allied personnel still in Niger. The official line is that no UK forces were directly involved in the firefight. But off the record, a senior military source told me: “We have people there. That’s all I can say.”
The attack exposes the lie of Western withdrawal from the Sahel. France announced a drawdown of its forces in 2022, yet the French flag still flies over a fortified compound inside the base. The US maintains a drone fleet at the same airfield, flying missions into Mali and Burkina Faso. The UK, eager to prove its post-Brexit relevance, has been quietly expanding its footprint across West Africa, signing defence agreements with Niger, Ghana, and Nigeria.
But the real question: who is funding these insurgents? My contacts in the intelligence community point to a shadow network linking illegal gold smuggling, ransom payments from European governments, and arms trafficking routes that run straight through Libya. The same network that launders money through shell companies in Dubai and London. The bodies pile up, but the money never stops moving.
The Nigerien government has declared three days of mourning. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Niger. But the real story is not the travel advisory. It is the rotting infrastructure of a security state built on sand and secrets. And the quiet, lethal preparations of men who do not wear ties. They are waiting for the next order.
