A coordinated attack on a civilian airport in Niger has left at least 35 people dead, with British counter-terrorism advisers warning of a dangerous spillover from the Sahel region's escalating insurgency. The assault, which occurred near the city of Agadez, involved multiple gunmen who breached perimeter security before opening fire on passengers and staff. No group has yet claimed responsibility, but local officials point to affiliates of Islamic State and al-Qaeda, which have been expanding their foothold across the Sahel.
This incident marks the deadliest single attack on civilian infrastructure in Niger since 2020, when jihadists killed over 100 soldiers near the border with Mali. The Sahel, a vast semi-arid belt stretching across Africa, has become a crucible for extremist violence. Groups such as Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) have capitalised on weak governance, porous borders, and climate-driven resource scarcity to recruit and operate with impunity.
British military advisers, deployed as part of counter-terrorism training missions in the region, have expressed alarm at the attack's tactical sophistication. "This was not a simple raid. It showed planning, intelligence gathering, and a deliberate choice to target a location with high civilian density," one adviser told our correspondent. "The Sahel is now a knot of conflicts, and each string pulled tightens another."
The implications extend beyond Niger. The country, one of the world's poorest, sits at a crossroads of migration routes and mineral wealth, including uranium reserves critical to France's nuclear energy. Years of instability have eroded state capacity, and the military junta that seized power in July 2023 has struggled to contain the violence. Meanwhile, neighbouring countries Mali and Burkina Faso, also under military rule, have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group, creating a patchwork of competing interests.
Climate change amplifies these dynamics. The Sahel has warmed at 1.5 times the global average, disrupting rainfall patterns and accelerating desertification. Pastoralist communities, already marginalised, face dwindling grazing lands, pushing them into conflict with farmers. This resource pressure creates a recruitment pool for extremist groups that offer money, protection, and a sense of purpose. A 2022 study by the Institute for Security Studies found that over 60% of new recruits in the region cited economic hardship as their primary motivation.
The airport massacre is a stark reminder that no safe zones remain. Even guarded infrastructure is fragile. The attack also threatens Niger's role as a hub for humanitarian operations in the Sahel, where aid agencies already struggle to reach millions displaced by violence. The World Food Programme estimates that over 16 million people across the Sahel face acute food insecurity, a number that could rise as farming cycles fail and markets collapse.
British counter-terror advisers have urged a coordinated international response that addresses both security and climate resilience. "We cannot bomb our way out of this," one adviser said. "The root causes drought, land degradation, institutional collapse are not solvable by drones alone." The UK has pledged additional support for surveillance and intelligence sharing, but its capacity is constrained by domestic cuts and the war in Ukraine.
For the families of those killed at the airport, the broader geopolitics offer little comfort. The Sahel's trajectory mirrors a wider pattern: as climate change stresses ecosystems and governance fractures, violence finds fertile ground. The massacre is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a system under unbearable strain. Until that strain is alleviated through investment in basic services, climate adaptation, and inclusive governance the body count will continue to rise.
As the dust settles on the tarmac in Agadez, the question remains: how many more attacks will it take before the international community treats the Sahel as the emergency it is?
