Niger rebels claim responsibility for attack on China-backed pipeline

​​​​​​​By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - A rebel group opposed to Niger's junta claimed responsibility for an attack that destroyed the PetroChina-funded Niger-Benin crude oil pipeline.

The attack Sunday reportedly occurred 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the village of Salkam in the southeastern Dosso region.

The pipeline covers nearly 2,000 kilometers linking Niger's Agadem oilfield to the coast of Benin.

It has a capacity of 90,000 barrels per day and is meant to facilitate exports under a $400 million deal with the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).

The group known as Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL) said it disabled a section of the pipeline as a “warning sign to the Nigerien junta.”

The group that was formed after a July 2023 coup in Niger has been demanding the cancellation of the oil deal with CNPC and a return to constitutional order.

It warned that “failing this, all oil assets will be paralyzed in the next few actions.”

Niger's government and pipeline operator, West Africa Oil Pipeline (WEPCO), has yet to comment.

The attack comes on the back of a border dispute between Niger and Benin.

Niger said last week it had shut off the pipeline flow after unidentified assailants attacked soldiers guarding the pipeline in the southeastern Dosso region, killing six.​​​​​​​