Algeria has provided Niger with two Mi-24V attack helicopters and two Mi-171 multirole transport helicopters as part of expanding defense cooperation between the neighboring countries.
The military assistance package also includes helicopter ammunition, spare parts, maintenance equipment and logistical support. The aircraft departed from Algeria’s In Guezzam deployment base in the south and flew to Niamey, while the ammunition and associated equipment were transported separately by an Algerian military aircraft.
Algiers described the transfer as part of its broader defense and security partnership with Niger. The two nations share an approximately 950-kilometer (590-mile) border across the Sahel, an area facing persistent militant activity, weapons smuggling and other transnational security challenges.
Niger Faces Continuing Security Challenges
The helicopter delivery comes as Niger’s military junta, which took power in July 2023, continues to confront attacks from rival al-Qaeda- and Islamic State-linked militant groups. Aviation infrastructure has increasingly become a target because of its importance to Niger’s counterterrorism operations.
In June, fighters from Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, attacked Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, which also hosts a military airbase. Nigerien authorities reported that 11 soldiers and two civilians were killed in the assault.
Three months earlier, armed militants attacked a military drone facility at Tahoua Airport. Nigerien forces repelled the assault, reportedly injuring several soldiers and killing several attackers, although no group immediately claimed responsibility.
Diori Hamani Airport was also targeted in January when Islamic State militants attacked the civilian airport and the adjacent air force facility.
Niger’s own military operations have also drawn concern over civilian casualties. Human Rights Watch reported that an apparent Nigerien drone strike hit a crowded market, killing at least 17 civilians, including four children, and injuring at least 13 others.
