Niger has blamed France for inciting an attack on a key military airbase ​by mutinous soldiers last week, according ‌to a government statement read on TV on Friday.

• Mutinous soldiers in the West African country attacked the ​airport and the presidency in the capital, ​Niamey, on August 29, the latest threat to ⁠the rule of Abdourahamane Tiani, who seized ​power in a 2023 coup.
• Explosions and gunfire also ​rang out at a military airbase, but Niger's army, backed by Russian paramilitary forces, regained control over it ​the next day.
• The Council of Ministers on ​Friday concluded that the attack had been incited by ‌a ⁠vast network of accomplices led by France, according to the statement.
• "A substantial body of evidence has been compiled regarding this attack, and Niger ​reserves the ​right to ⁠bring the matter before international courts," the government said in the ​statement.
• The attack highlighted tensions within Niger's armed ​forces, ⁠which have suffered repeated battlefield losses while fighting a jihadist insurgency.
• Tiani blamed France and other ⁠West ​African countries for unrest in ​the capital earlier this year, without providing evidence.