Brazen Attack On Niger’s Airport Shows Jihadis Are Expanding To Cities In Africa's Sahel

DAKAR, Senegal — The gunfire and explosions that ripped done Niger’s main world airdrome are nan latest motion of equipped groups progressively targeting cities and municipality centers successful Africa’s Sahel region, wherever they are competing for power and territories, analysts say.

The Al Qaeda-linked JNIM jihadi group, nan astir potent successful nan Sahel region southbound of nan Sahara desert, claimed work for Thursday’s onslaught astatine Diori Hamani International Airport successful Niamey that killed 11 soldiers and 2 civilians.

It was nan 2nd onslaught this twelvemonth astatine nan airport, a strategical hub that serves arsenic nan ruling military’s command, hosting its aerial unit guidelines and astir of its drones and aircraft. It’s besides nan office of nan location confederation that brings together troops from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

A akin onslaught successful January, which was claimed by nan Islamic State group’s Sahel Province (ISSP), besides saw motorcycle-riding gunmen large wind nan airdrome installation arsenic they targeted costly drones. The attacks successful Niger, unseen astatine this standard successful caller years, travel a awesome ambush and continuing substance blockade by Al Qaeda wrong and astir Mali’s superior of Bamako.

Both Al Qaeda and Islamic State group-backed militants, rivals for power of nan territory successful nan Sahel pinch competing goals and strategical aspirations, started escalating their attacks past twelvemonth arsenic they activity much power successful what is known to beryllium a world basking spot for terrorism.

The caller attacks bespeak a changing militant strategy that progressively includes municipality centers alongside remote, poorly policed communities wherever insurgent groups traditionally operate, said Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, lawman task head for nan International Crisis Group, a deliberation tank.

Militant groups move nan Sahel into nan Wild West

At nan bosom of nan militant activity are nan 3 neighboring Sahel states of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. They are governed by subject juntas that staged coups fueled by resentment toward aged Western partners and antiauthoritarian governments.

The 3 governments person turned to Russia arsenic a awesome information state aft turning backmost from Western allies. French and American forces withdrew, while Russian subject unit moved in.

The onslaught connected Thursday had little value than nan 1 successful January but was important for JNIM and its operations, Ibrahim said. “JNIM successful Niger is trying to people its territory. This is simply a connection to nan authorities but besides to IS [Islamic State group],” he added.

Niger’s beingness astatine nan intersection of respective awesome conflict zones is besides seen arsenic strategical for nan groups. It borders Mali and Burkina Faso to nan west, wherever JNIM is strongest, and Nigeria and Chad to nan southbound and east, wherever Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) operate. To nan north, it stretches into nan Sahara toward Libya and Algeria.

Analysts pass that ISSP and ISWAP are attempting to usage nan Niger-Nigeria separator arsenic a span betwixt nan 2 groups, connecting 2 of Africa’s astir powerful and convulsive extremist groups crossed a wide swath of territory, a move JNIM opposes.

“Niger is simply a territory of title betwixt them,” Wassim Nasr, a elder investigation chap astatine nan Soufan Center, said.

“If JNIM loses nan precocious manus successful Niger against nan Islamic State, it will jeopardize its precocious manus successful Mali and Burkina Faso. … You person an unfastened abstraction for illustration nan Wild West, wherever each is looking to people its territory,” he added.

Mcmakin and Asadu constitute for nan Associated Press. Asadu contributed to this study from Abuja, Nigeria.