Three people were killed on Monday when an Mi-17 transport helicopter crashed at an army base near Niger’s capital Niamey.
“A Niger Armed Forces MI-17 helicopter, returning from a routine training flight, crashed while landing on the military airstrip from Niamey airport,” the Nigerien Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
“Unfortunately the three crew members – an officer and a non-commissioned officer from Niger and an expatriate instructor – died on the spot despite the efforts of the emergency services to contain the fire,” it added.
A commission of inquiry “was immediately set up to determine the causes of this tragic accident”, continues the text.
Niger has been trying to beef up its military, which has been fighting jihadist violence since 2015 on its immense territory, much of it desert.
The military of Niger took delivery of at three Mil Mi-171Sh assault helicopter it ordered between 2017 to 2019, in a deal worth $47 million.
The Mi-171Sh transport/attack helicopter is an upgraded variant of the Mil Mi-8 (Hip) utility helicopter, designed for transport and logistics duties. It is armed with both guided and unguided munitions.
Nigérien soldiers along with French paratroopers, and US advisors continue to combat the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), an offshoot of the terrorist group that has taken over parts of Iraq and Syria.
Lack of transport and attack helicopters in sufficient numbers is seriously the country’s premier anti-terrorism unit from carrying out its duties. Niger’s air force has a few combat helicopters in its inventory.
Now, they are left with two Mi-17s, three Gazelles (with two armed), and two AB 412 acquired from Italy last year.
For the past five years, ISGS has terrorized villages and communities, stealing cattle and food, while burning homes and displacing almost 30,000 people, according to the United Nations.
Several parts are affected: the west, close to Mali and Burkina Faso where Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group are present, and the south-east bordering Lake Chad and Nigeria, which has become a hideout for jihadists.
The border area between northern Benin and southern Niger, so far spared, has in turn been confronted for several months with the jihadist threat, according to the authorities.
In its fight against armed Islamists, Niger benefits from logistical and training support from France, the United States, Italy, Germany and Belgium.
France and the United States both have military bases in Niger and Germany has a logistics base.