Niger: Military junta announces self-defence group plans

As Niger’s fight against Islamist terrorism appears increasingly futile, the ruling military junta has announced plans to create and train local self-defence groups, according to RFI and agencies on March 30th.

Niamey announced these plans on March 27th, with the local militias being formed to support the Nigerien army to fight terrorist groups affiliated with organisations, including the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

The groups would comprise volunteer recruits, including former police officers, gendarmes and soldiers; members would be paid and receive military training.

It was reported on March 13th that nearly 1,300 people were killed by jihadists in Niger throughout 2025, according to data from the ACLED crisis monitoring group.

Much of the violence is concentrated in the western Tillabéri region, which borders Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger’s regional allies that are also struggling to contain a growing Islamist threat that is present throughout the Sahel and West Africa.

Jihadist groups have become increasingly entrenched in the border area between Niger, Nigeria and Benin.

Nigerien military bases and soldiers have been targeted by militants, along with Niamey’s Diori Hamani International Airport, which was attacked by the Islamic State in January.

Although the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the airport attack, Niger’s junta accused France and its West African allies, Benin and the Ivory Coast, of supporting terrorism to destabilise the Sahel.

On February 26th, Islamist State militants killed 25 members of the Anzourou self-defence group in the southwestern Tillabéri region.

Volunteer militias, such as the VDP, are used in neighbouring Burkina Faso, which is also junta-led and struggling to contain rising jihadist violence.

However, the Burkinabe volunteers have been targeted by Islamist groups; they are also implicated in the mass killings of civilians, alongside the Burkinabe military.

Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali are founding members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a cooperation pact designed to counter Islamist terrorism.

The AES have rejected Western ties in favour of Russian military partnerships, with Russian mercenaries being deployed to maintain stability, usually in exchange for access to resources, such as gold.

Rising Islamist violence and anti-Western sentiment led the German embassy to announce the withdrawal of its staff from Niamey on March 23rd, citing concerns about Western citizens being targeted by terrorist groups and criminal gangs for kidnappings.

Niger was a Western ally prior to the 2023 coup that installed Abdourahamane Tchiani as junta leader; the country is part of the so-called “coup belt” or “Sahel triangle,” which represents areas most affected by terrorism.

RFI and agencies, Maghrebi.org