ASSESSMENTS

Niger: Jihadist Threats Persist After the Malian Intervention

May 23, 2013 | 15:57 GMT

Niger: Jihadist Threats Persist After the Malian Intervention
A Nigerien soldier walks outside Areva's uranium mine on Sept. 26, 2010, in Arlit.

(ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)

Summary

Militants displaced by French military operations in Mali will continue to pose a threat to Western assets throughout the Sahel and to African states that participated in the Malian intervention. Evidence of this threat was seen May 23 in Arlit, a town in neighboring Niger, when suicide bombers detonated a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device at a uranium mine owned by France's Areva and Niger's Somair.

Militants concurrently attacked a Nigerien military base in Agadez with a similar device. Already claimed by the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, the attack was the first of its kind in Niger, which was partly targeted because of the role it played in combating jihadists in Mali. We can expect regional countries, as well as Western countries active in the region, to bolster security for their assets in anticipation of future attacks, though France is unlikely to reassess its military drawdown.

Security will be bolstered throughout the region ahead of future attacks....

Keep Reading

Register to read three free articles

Proceed to sign up

Register Now

Already have an account?

Sign In