Unknown gunmen opened fire on home of political leader in Niger
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A spokesman for the head of Niger's National Assembly told reporters that assailants had opened fire on the leader's residence overnight in an apparent assassination attempt. Assembly President Hama Amadou is away on a business trip and no one was hurt during the attack.
Spokesman Soumana Panda said Monday that one of the bullets landed two meters (yards) from the leader's bed. The spokesman added that Amadou, who is on a state visit to Iran, had informed aides before his departure that he'd been tipped off that assassins had been recruited to kill him.
Niger sits at the feet of the Sahara desert, sharing a border with Libya. After the fall of ex-Libyan leader Moamar Ghadafi, analysts warned that his mercenaries would flee south, into Niger and Mali.