{"id":4784,"date":"2026-02-15T18:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T18:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/nigers-tiani-accuses-france-over-niamey-airport-attack"},"modified":"2026-02-15T19:19:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T19:19:12","slug":"nigers-tiani-accuses-france-over-niamey-airport-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/policy\/nigers-tiani-accuses-france-over-niamey-airport-attack","title":{"rendered":"Niger\u2019S Tiani Accuses France over Niamey Airport Attack"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>Niger\u2019s ruling military council leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, accused France of involvement in the attack on Niamey airport on 29 January, even though Islamic State in the Greater Sahara claimed responsibility the following day.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview aired on state television, Tiani said the attack was part of a \u201cmalicious agenda to destabilize\u201d the country, adding that his rise to power through the July 2023 coup had created \u201copen hostility\u201d with French President Emmanuel Macron.<\/p>\n<p>Since the ouster of elected president Mohamed Bazoum, Niger\u2019s authorities have adopted a sovereignty-focused narrative blaming Paris for backing armed groups active in the country for more than a decade. The military leadership accuses France of financing these groups, while Paris denies any interference and says it was at the forefront of efforts to fight armed groups in the Sahel before being forced out of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.<\/p>\n<p>After the airport attack, Tiani also accused Co\u0302te d\u2019Ivoire and Benin\u2014France\u2019s regional allies\u2014of supporting armed groups, which the three countries denied. He said the aim of the operation was to \u201cdestroy the army\u2019s air capabilities,\u201d but stressed that it failed.<\/p>\n<p>Tiani further said Russian forces helped Niger\u2019s army repel the assault, adding that the operation was meant to be followed by seven simultaneous attacks in the Tillabe\u0301ri region in western Niger, where armed groups have operated for years. He acknowledged a \u201csecurity gap\u201d at the airport, but said the forces \u201crepelled the attack bravely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In response, French military spokesperson Colonel Guillaume Vernet described Tiani\u2019s remarks as \u201cinformation warfare,\u201d denying any intention of military intervention in Niger.<\/p>\n<p><b>Uranium dispute<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Tensions with Paris are not limited to security. They also extend to natural resources. Niger\u2019s authorities announced the nationalization of Somair, a company linked to French uranium giant Orano, prompting the company to file lawsuits.<\/p>\n<p>In his latest remarks, Tiani said he was ready to hand France its share of uranium produced before he took power, but insisted that \u201ceverything produced after that belongs to Niger and will remain so.\u201d Around 1,000 tonnes of \u201cyellowcake\u201d (uranium concentrate) are reportedly stuck at Niamey airport for weeks, pending a decision on their fate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Africa<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press. Niger\u2019s ruling military council leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, accused France of involvement in the attack on Niamey airport on 29 January, even though Islamic State in the Greater Sahara claimed responsibility the following day. In an interview aired on state television, Tiani said the attack was part of a \u201cmalicious agenda to destabilize\u201d the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-4784","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-policy","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Niger\u2019S Tiani Accuses France over Niamey Airport Attack - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag&quot;&gt; Africa-Press. 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