Heavy gunfire and explosions were heard overnight Sunday to Monday in Tahoua, a major city in southwestern Niger, before calm was restored, according to residents.

This attack comes a few weeks after the Islamic State in the Sahel (ISS) attack on the airport in the capital Niamey and a military base on the same site.

Western Niger has been plagued for about ten years by deadly attacks from jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), linked to Al-Qaeda. It is also the target of attacks by armed men from neighboring Nigeria.

"Heavy gunfire followed by explosions was heard around 3 a.m. (2 a.m. GMT)," a resident of the town of Tahoua, located in a border region with Nigeria and close to Mali, told AFP.

The unidentified assailants "came on motorcycles" and "exchanges of fire were coming from the direction of the city's airport and the city center," he added.

"Calm has returned, we can no longer hear gunfire, people are coming out of their homes to look for food for Ramadan," another resident told AFP before dawn.

The eventual death toll and the identity of the attackers were not known on Monday morning.

The Tahoua region is facing jihadist attacks in its northern part near Mali and attacks by armed "bandits" along its border with Nigeria.

But usually the city of more than 100,000 inhabitants, the capital of the region, was spared.

In several videos filmed by residents and posted on social media, explosions can be heard.

In others, you can see residents near the airport in the streets looking in the direction from which the shots are coming, while some rush to take shelter.

Last week, a customs officer and at least three civilians were killed in an attack on a checkpoint near the border with Nigeria, in the Tahoua region.

Niger is ruled by a military junta, in power since July 2023 and a coup that overthrew elected President Mohamed Bazoum, but continues to face jihadist violence and attacks that show no signs of abating.