Niger junta says it is back in control after soldiers' mutiny

Niger's ruling junta said it was back in control after mutinous soldiers set off armed clashes in Niger's capital Saturday, moving on the presidential palace and disrupting the state broadcaster.

Niger has been ruled for three years by a military junta led by General Abdourahamane Tiani that has struggled to contain jihadist violence flaring in the west African country for around a decade.

After hours of heavy exchanges around some of its most sensitive sites, the junta said it had largely wrested back control from the rebel soldiers.

The fighting appeared to have subsided later Saturday, even if a regional security source and an African diplomatic source said the rebelling troops still held two barracks around Niamey.

But by Saturday evening, diplomatic and security sources told AFP that members of Niger's presidential guard helped by Russian forces had recaptured the air base, killing some of the mutineers.

When fighting broke out, shortly after midnight, soldiers blocked access to the presidential palace and the national television station, Tele Sahel, which went off the air for just over an hour, before being restored around 10:00 am .

Niger's ruling junta later declared, in a statement read on state television, that it was gradually taking back control after hours of clashes.

"There was an attempt by insurgents from the Nigerien armed forces to enter the presidential palace," a security source told AFP, adding that the presidential guard had pushed them back.

Niger's defence minister, General Salifou Mody, said on state television that a group of soldiers had held some troops hostage at a barracks in Niamey, opening fire at "certain sensitive sites" in the city, without specifying which ones.

Troops and security forces had quickly taken back control, he added, calling on local people to remain calm.

The first shots were heard at about 1:00 am local time and continued until daybreak, according to a video published by a local journalist filming the area around the airport.

The military issued a statement on its social media pages urging people to stay calm and "avoid sharing unverified information".

One local resident speaking to AFP reported "heavy gunfire and explosions" at Base 101 in Niamey, a claim confirmed by several other witnesses.

Another said he had heard "bursts of gunfire" at about 7:00 am local time, adding that the weapons heard "are not the kind that terrorists on motorbikes can carry".