Gunfire heard at Niger capital's airport

Gunfire has been heard coming from the airport in Niger's capital, Niamey, according to residents.

It began around 06:00 local time (05:00 GMT) and the Reuters news agency, which is also reporting that there have been explosions, said it lasted for an hour.

The gunfire was coming from the entrance to the airport, two witnesses told the AFP news agency.

Niger has been fighting a militant Islamist insurgency for a decade and in January suspected jihadists launched an attack on the same airport. Like its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger is run by a military junta that came to power in part because of the failure to deal with the violence.

No group has said it was responsible for Thursday's attack and the authorities have not yet commented. But an affiliate to the Islamic State group said it had carried out January's assault.

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