Gunfire broke out in Niamey, the capital of Niger early this morning with rebelious units attempting to seize the Presidential Palace and the Niamey Airport.This is the 3rd coup attempt since 2021, with the coup attempt in 2023 being successful in toppling the regime of Mohamed Bazoum with the Chief of the Palace Guards Abdourahamane Tiani naming himself president and still leads the country today.
As of the writing of this post the coup is still ongoing. The attack on the Presidential Palace was repelled by government forces but the Diori Hamane airport in Niamey and the Bassora training camp for the Nigerien National Guard are still under assault.
Nigerian medias report that units fighting the Islamic State in the Dosso region bordering Nigeria have abandoned their posts to take part in the coup, leaving behind a vacuum of power which will be quickly filled up by the jihadists.
The power grid has reportedly been cut off in certain areas and at strategic sites (notably the airport and the road leading to the presidential palace; to be confirmed).
The Nigerien state TV broadcast station came under attack but was repelled. Regular transmission resumed 2h ago and it was confirmed that there is a coup attempt going on with more Nigerien units mutinying and abandoning their posts along the Niger-Burkina Faso and Niger-Mali borders to join the rebellious units in Niamey.
Note for the map: the squares represent from left to right: the Nigerien presidential palace, the Bassora National Guard training camp and the Niamey Diori Hamani airport.
@CIG_telegram
