In a statement released on January 31, 2026, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, expressed deep concern over the recent violence that has shaken Niger. <\/p>\n
Among the incidents was an attack on Hamani Diori International Airport in the capital, Niamey, which occurred during the night of January 28\u201329. <\/p>\n
Another deadly assault killed about 30 civilians on January 18 in the village of Bosiye, located in western Niger.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese heinous acts form part of the campaign of terror conducted by violent extremist groups deliberately targeting civilian populations and public infrastructure,\u201d Youssouf said, condemning the violence in the strongest terms. <\/p>\n
He also praised the \u201cswift and effective response\u201d of Nigerien security forces that helped contain the airport attack.<\/p>\n
The AU leader conveyed the organisation\u2019s solidarity with the people and government of Niger and extended condolences to the families of the victims. <\/p>\n
He emphasised that the bloc stands ready to continue supporting Niger\u2019s efforts to confront violent extremism and terrorism, which pose a serious threat to peace, stability, and territorial integrity across affected regions.<\/p>\n
Youssouf highlighted progress from a recent large\u2011scale military operation in the Tillab\u00e9ri region, noting that it had led to the neutralisation of several armed elements, the disruption of terror groups, and the recovery of looted property. <\/p>\n
He underlined the importance of sustained counter\u2011terror efforts as Niger continues to face attacks from extremist factions.<\/p>\n
The attacks in Niger have also prompted international concerns about security in the Sahel region. <\/p>\n
In response to escalating risks, the U.S. State Department ordered non\u2011emergency personnel and their families to leave Niger, warning that \u201creal risks\u201d from crime, civil unrest, terrorism, health issues, and kidnapping persist across the country.<\/p>\n
The African Union\u2019s condemnation and pledge of support come amid heightened regional instability, with neighbouring Sahel states confronting persistent jihadist threats that undermine peace and development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The African Union (AU) has strongly condemned a series of violent attacks in Niger, including an assault on the country\u2019s main international airport, and has reaffirmed its support for the West African nation amid continued security threats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2000101401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[201],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-57035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-rania-umutoni"],"bylines":[{"id":201,"name":"Rania Umutoni","slug":"rania-umutoni","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":139}],"contributors":[{"id":201,"name":"Rania Umutoni","slug":"rania-umutoni","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":139}],"featured_image":{"id":2000101401,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/202111africa_achprau_logo.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/202111africa_achprau_logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/202111africa_achprau_logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/202111africa_achprau_logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/202111africa_achprau_logo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/202111africa_achprau_logo.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000101401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57035"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=57035"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=57035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}