Niger

* Nigerian forces on offensive to oust Islamists * Attack raises concerns about counter-strikes * Armed vigilantes join fight against Boko Haram By Lanre Ola MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, June 17 (Reuters) - Seven students, two teachers and two insurgents...

NIAMEY, June 16 (Reuters) - An inquiry into shooting at a military police academy in Niger's capital Niamey found no evidence of an attack on the camp, suggesting it could have been an over-reaction by nervous guards, the foreign minister said on Sunday....

NIAMEY, June 2 (Reuters) - Some 22 prisoners, including Islamist militants, escaped from a prison in Niger's capital after several gunmen attacked the jail and killed two guards, the government said on Sunday. The prison break comes a week after al...

* France's Hollande says worried by lawless southern Libya * Says no plans to intervene militarily, would need U.N. mandate * Initiatives to help Tripoli to be unveiled in coming weeks By John Irish PARIS, May 31 (Reuters) - Islamist rebels based in...

* Nigerian pirate gangs spreading across the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea * Regional navies, coastguards overwhelmed * Violence threatens economies of some of world's poorest nations * Western nations backing regional efforts to tackle problem By Joe...

* Niger says attacks on base, mine launched from Libya * After Mali mission, France scrambles troops to help Niger * Weak armies, poor regional cooperation to keep West involved By David Lewis BAMAKO, May 31 (Reuters) - Suicide attacks on a French-run...

Guitarist Bombino's performance at a wedding in the desert city of Agadez, Niger, six years ago was, in some ways, a typical job. Then 27, he had been playing music since childhood and toured globally as a member of the band Tidawt. But this gig became...

* President has launched biggest offensive yet on Islamists * Cautious optimism over Jonathan's change of tactics * Islamist fighters know how to regroup, counter-strike * Development, jobs hold key to long-term peace By Joe Brock MAIDUGURI, Nigeria,...

NIAMEY, May 25 (Reuters) - Islamist militants who carried out simultaneous suicide attacks on an army base and a French uranium mine in northern Niger two days ago came from southern Libya, Niger's president said on Saturday. President Mahamadou Issoufou...

ABIDJAN, May 24 (Reuters) - An al Qaeda-linked group that carried out the raid on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria in January has claimed to have participated in Thursday's attacks in Niger. A statement posted on the internet on Friday was signed by...

NIAMEY, May 23 (Reuters) - Several soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with suspected Islamist militants after a suicide bomb attack on a barracks in the northern Niger town of Agadez, military sources said. "The situation is now under control. The...

NIAMEY, May 23 (Reuters) - At least 18 soldiers and four suspected Islamists were killed in a fierce gunbattle following a dawn car bomb attack at a barracks in the northern Niger town of Agadez, military sources and a local official said. "There are...