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ABIDJAN, June 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Gunfire rang out for several hours at the airport in Niger's capital, Niamey, early on Thursday, residents said, five months after jihadists launched a large attack at the sensitive site.

Niger has been ruled for three years by a military junta which has struggled to contain jihadist violence that has rocked the west African country for around a decade.

The firing had stopped and calm was restored by mid-morning but residents said a large military presence had been put in place at the airport.

"I heard the first shots around 6 o'clock (0500 GMT). The shooting was coming from the airport entrance," a resident told AFP by telephone.

He said firing went on for several hours.

Another resident confirmed the gunfire was coming from the airport entrance, where there is a security checkpoint.

Later on, another resident said assailants were in the Route Tchanga neighbourhood near the airport, where local people were trying to chase them away.

"No more shots can be heard in the airport; the situation is under control," the taxi-motorbike driver said.

"The military went down into certain neighbourhoods around the airport to sweep the area; they are receiving help from residents who are hunting down bandits with sticks and machetes," he said.

One of the residents who reported a heavy security presence said he had been due to travel on Thursday.

He said that "when we got near the airport, the soldiers explained that it was not possible to take the plane".

- 'Flaw in the system' -

In January, the Diori Hamani international airport in Niamey and an adjoining military drone base were targeted in an attack claimed by the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS).

Nigerien armed forces and their Russian allies repelled the strike, which was a rare development since violence had previously been contained to other parts of the vast Sahel country.

Twenty assailants were killed and four soldiers wounded in the surprise assault on January 29, which caused damage, authorities said.

The head of the ruling junta, Abdourahamane Tiani, who seized power in a coup in July 2023, said on state television "a flaw in the system" had "enabled the attack", whose aim, he said, "was to destroy all of the air capabilities" of the army.

The site is sensitive; between December and January, a large cargo of concentrated uranium was blocked at the site while waiting for export.

No movement of that cargo has since been identified.

In recent weeks, the authorities have started tearing down thousands of illegally built homes next to Niamey airport in what they said were efforts to counter a "terrorist" risk.

They alleged the shanty towns had been infiltrated by jihadists.

The demolitions affected 26,000 people living in four neighbourhoods that occupy nearly a quarter of the airport area, authorities said.

The airport perimeter fence has been extended and more than 350 security cameras installed inside and outside the perimeter.

Niger and its military-ruled allies in west Africa -- Burkina Faso and Mali -- have faced a decade of violence attributed to jihadists.

Tiani came to power after toppling democratically elected president Mohamed Bazoum.

He has struggled to stop deadly attacks by groups affiliated with the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda.

In April, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and the Tuareg-dominated Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) carried out an unprecedented assault against the ruling junta in Mali.

Niger has moved away from former colonial power France and sought support from other partners, such as Iran, Turkey and Russia.