A coordinated assault on the Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey on January 28 marks a shift in the security landscape of the Sahel. The Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS), an affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), claimed responsibility for the late-night operation targeting both the civilian terminal and the adjacent military installation. According to statements from Moscow’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on February 2, 2026, personnel from the Russian Ministry of Defence Africa Corps played a direct role in repelling the attackers alongside the Nigerien Armed Forces.
The engagement resulted in the deaths of 20 attackers, including 1 individual identified as a French national, while 4 Nigerien soldiers sustained injuries. State television reports from Niamey confirmed that security forces captured at least 11 fighters during the aftermath. General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of Niger’s transitional government, visited the Russian military installation in Niamey shortly after the event to express gratitude for the professionalism demonstrated by the Russian contingent. This acknowledgement confirms the operational integration between the Nigerien Armed Forces and the Russian Ministry of Defence Africa Corps, the successor entity to the Wagner Group, which now functions under the direct oversight of the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Footage released by the ISIL-affiliated Amaq News Agency depicts several dozen militants armed with assault rifles infiltrating the perimeter near a hangar. The video shows the attackers setting fire to at least one aircraft before retreating on motorcycles. While the immediate damage to infrastructure was contained, the brazen nature of the raid on a capital city’s primary aviation hub indicates an evolving threat profile.
Analysts from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation suggest the sophistication of the manoeuvre, which reportedly involved the use of small unmanned aerial systems for reconnaissance, implies the attackers possessed detailed intelligence or internal assistance.
The Niamey incident mirrors a September 2024 attack on the international airport in Bamako, Mali. In both cases, rebels bypassed layers of urban security to strike high-value logistics nodes. The Russian Foreign Ministry suggested that these operations involve external forces providing technical and instructor support to extremist groups, though specific evidence regarding such third-party involvement remains undisclosed. In the immediate wake of the Niamey raid, Nigerien military officials levelled accusations against Benin, France, and the Ivory Coast, alleging they sponsored the assault. These regional neighbours and former security partners have denied the claims; the Ivory Coast summoned the Nigerien ambassador to formally protest the allegations, while French officials have refrained from public comment.
The Africa Corps serves as a centralised mechanism for Russian power projection, providing kinetic support, intelligence, and technical training. Unlike the previous mercenary model, the Corps operates as a formal arm of the Russian state, allowing Moscow to formalise its influence while offering the Sahelian juntas a perceived alternative to Western counter-terrorism frameworks. Beyond Niger, Russia has deployed similar contingents to Libya, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, and Equatorial Guinea. These deployments often focus on securing critical infrastructure and providing regime protection services in exchange for strategic access or resource concessions.
Military instructors and personnel from Russia’s defence ministry arrived in Niger in mid-2024, signalling that the West African country is building closer relations with Moscow, like its junta-led neighbours. Russia, first through Kremlin-backed Wagner Group mercenaries and now through the creation of the Africa Corps, has been extending its influence in countries in Africa, including Mali and the Central African Republic. Like Mali, which is also ruled by the military, Niger is fighting jihadists and has rejected help from former colonial power France, which had troops in both countries.
Even though in May last year, Niger’s military regime abruptly ended its intelligence cooperation with its key allies, Russia and Turkey, a decision made under intense pressure that has revealed the depth of the country’s security crisis and internal divisions. Subsequently, Russia pledged continued military support for the AES juntas, and in August 2025, Russia formalised a defence cooperation agreement with the Alliance of Sahel States, comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, committing to assist in their struggles against terrorism and externally supported militant factions that have sown chaos in the region.
Russian officials maintain that their presence is intended to strengthen regional stability and assist in the fight against extremist organisations. However, the reliance on Russian kinetic interventions comes at a time when the Africa Corps is also managing commitments in other global theatres. The effectiveness of this partnership will depend on whether the joint forces can move beyond reactive defence to proactive disruption of insurgent networks. For now, the successful defence of the Niamey airport serves as a notable proof of concept for the military administration’s shift in foreign policy, even as it complicates diplomatic relations with regional neighbours in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).