Gunfire erupts near airport in Niger's capital

Gunfire erupted early on Thursday at the airport in Niger's capital, Niamey, residents told AFP, several months after a major jihadist attack at the facility.

"I heard the first shots around 6 o'clock (0500 GMT). The shooting was coming from the airport entrance" and was continuing two hours later, a resident told AFP by telephone.

Another resident confirmed the gunfire was coming from the airport entrance.

In January, the capital's Diori Hamani international airport was targeted in an unprecedented attack claimed by the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS) and repelled by Nigerien armed forces and allied Russian fighters.

Previously, jihadist violence in Niger had been contained to other parts of the country.

Following the attack, thousands of illegally built homes were torn down in a sprawling neighbourhood near the airport.

Authorities said the district had been infiltrated by jihadists to carry out the attack.

Niger, a vast country in west Africa's Sahel region, has for a decade battled violence by armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.