Latest Niger News
US military completes withdrawal from junta-ruled Niger
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Niger is complete, an American official said Monday. A small number of military personnel assigned to guard the U.S. Embassy remain, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters. Earlier this year,...
Fuel tanker collision in Nigeria caused an explosion that killed at least 48 people
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A fuel tanker collided head-on with another truck in Nigeria on Sunday causing an explosion that killed at least 48 people, the country’s emergency response agency said. The fuel tanker was also carrying cattle in the Agaie area in north-central Niger state...
Editorial Roundup: United States
Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: Aug. 7 The Washington Post on Biden's team and Guantanamo Bay The United States had an opportunity to close a chapter on a sad, decades-long saga when the government reached a plea deal...
US hands over its last military base in Niger to the ruling junta
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The U.S. handed over its last military base in Niger — one of two crucial hubs for American counterterrorism operations in the country — to local authorities, the U.S. Department of Defense and Niger’s Ministry of Defense announced in a joint statement on Monday. ...
Two men who say they're Russian appear in hostage video from Niger released by al-Qaida-linked group
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Two men claiming to be Russian nationals and saying they were taken captive in Niger by militants linked to al-Qaida appeared in a video published on a media platform affiliated to the extremist group. The video, which appeared on the az-Zallaqa platform on...
7 security forces and 5 rangers killed in Benin national park as jihadi violence takes root
COTONOU, Benin (AP) — At least seven members of Beninese security forces and five rangers working with a conservation nonprofit have been killed in an attack by an armed group in Benin's National Park W that is overrun by militants, according to the conservation group. The attack...
A year has passed since Niger's dramatic coup. Life has become more dangerous and desperate
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — When a group of military officers appeared on state television in Niger one year ago to make a dramatic announcement of a coup, they said they deposed the West African nation's elected government for two key reasons: its security, and economic crises. But...
Terrorism and organized crime rampant in Sahel and spilling into West Africa coastal states, UN says
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Terrorism and organized crime by violent extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State are a “pervasive threat” in Africa's volatile Sahel region and are spilling over to West Africa's coastal countries, the top U.N. envoy for the area warned Friday. ...
Inmates escape from one of Niger’s most fortified prisons where jihadis are held
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Nigerien authorities enforced a curfew Friday as they searched for inmates who escaped from one of the country's most fortified prisons in the Tillaberi region after it was breached under unclear circumstances. Niger’s Ministry of Interior alerted government...
Senegal’s leader wasn't born when ECOWAS was founded. He's asked to reunite the bloc split by coups
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Senegal’s President Basirou Diomaye Faye, Africa's youngest, is suddenly faced with a huge challenge of reuniting a weakened regional bloc that is older than him. The 44-year-old Faye was tasked on Sunday with getting the military junta-ruled Mali, Niger and...
