Niamey - Leaders of the G5 Sahel nations held summit talks in Niamey Sunday, after the death last week of 71 Niger soldiers in a jihadist attack, calling for closer cooperation and international support in the battle against the Islamist threat.

Niamey - The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on an army camp in Niger which left 71 military personnel dead, the SITE intelligence group said Thursday.

Niamey - Strategies to roll back jihadism in the Sahel have been dealt a body blow by a massive attack on an army base in Niger that left scores of dead and missing.

Niamey - Hundreds of jihadists attacked a Niger military camp near the border with Mali with shelling and mortars, killing 71 soldiers, the defence ministry said Wednesday.

T - Ali's sharp eyes scanned the heat-shimmered horizon, searching in vain for clouds. It was noon and 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) on the ninth day of their quest to reach new pastures.

Niamey - A leading opposition figure in Niger who returned from self-imposed exile last week was jailed on Monday to serve out the rest of his time for a conviction of baby smuggling, his family told AFP.

Niamey - Gunmen launched a deadly predawn raid Wednesday on a military base in southeastern Niger's Diffa region, which has been a target of Boko Haram jihadists, local sources said.

Niamey - Floods in southeast Niger have forced 23,000 people to flee their homes since early October, officials said Saturday, threatening a new humanitarian crisis in a region already wracked by Boko Haram Islamist violence.

Niamey - On a dusty patch of land on the outskirts of the capital Niamey, Niger's most famous comedian Mamane shows off a site he says will host a drama school to promote African artists and freedom on a continent rife with corruption and strife.

Niamey - The four countries bordering Lake Chad on Friday launched a fund aimed at collecting $100 million to help counter climate change and a devastating jihadist insurgency.

Niamey - First ladies attending the African Union summit in Niger on Saturday called for a rise in taxes for cancer-causing products such as tobacco and alcohol.

Niamey - Heads of state will meet for an African Union (AU) summit in Niger Sunday to usher in a landmark free trade agreement and consider looming security and migration crises.

Niamey - The bodies of 11 missing Niger soldiers have been discovered after an ambush by armed men killed 17 of their colleagues on patrol near the Mali border, security sources said.

Niamey - The death toll from a May 6 tanker truck explosion near the international airport in Niger's capital has risen to 76, state television reported late Sunday.

Niamey - Heads of state of 17 countries in the Sahel region of Africa will hold a summit on Monday in Niamey to approve a climate investment plan worth $400 billion over 12 years, the Niger government said Wednesday.

Niamey - Niger's army killed more than 280 Boko Haram militants near the southeast border with Nigeria in days of land and air raids, the defence ministry said Wednesday.

Niamey - Seven local employees of a French drilling firm and a government official were killed Thursday when suspected Boko Haram gunmen stormed the compound where they were sleeping in southeastern Niger.

Niamey - Germany and the Netherlands have pledged to fund special forces in Niger to control its border and prevent illegal migration, the EU's security mission in the country said Thursday.

Niamey - Niger has launched a mass polio vaccination campaign targeting more than three million children under five after new cases were detected, an official said Friday.

Niamey - Health officials have detected three cases of polio in southern Niger, near the border with Nigeria, the health ministry said Friday, just months after a major UN vaccination operation.