Madar (Niamey) - At least 11 people were killed and several others wounded on the morning of Tuesday, 20 October 2026, when gunmen attacked two passenger buses on the road between Arlit and Agadez in northern Niger, according to news site Journal du Niger and AFP.
Journal du Niger said the attackers, travelling in three all-terrain vehicles, intercepted the buses about 35 kilometres from Agadez. Soldiers travelling with the passengers exchanged fire with them, and ten passengers and one soldier were killed, while several survivors suffered gunshot wounds.
Citing local broadcaster Tegades TV, AFP reported that the buses had left the mining town of Arlit on Tuesday morning and were attacked just outside Agadez. "We were on our way to Agadez when we ran into bandits who opened fire on us," a passenger said, adding that soldiers escorting the convoy fired back. An Agadez resident confirmed the attack to AFP.
According to Journal du Niger, a bus from another company helped evacuate some of the wounded to health centres in Agadez, while security services are investigating to identify the attackers. The site cited information that one of the vehicles was carrying a large quantity of gold, which has not been officially confirmed.
Niger's authorities had not commented on the attack and no group had claimed it. The country's north has largely been spared the armed violence affecting the west and south-east, but it is a trafficking route and has seen violence linked to gold-mining sites, AFP said.
