The Patriotic Movement for Freedom and Justice (MPLJ) said it would continue its armed actions against strategic infrastructure in Niger if the military junta led by Abdourahmane Tchiani did not meet its demands for deep political and social reforms. As LSI Africa reports, this rebel group claimed responsibility for an attack on December 21, 2025 on the pipeline supplying the country’s main refinery, Soraz, which exacerbated the shortage of hydrocarbons and triggered an energy supply crisis throughout the national territory.
The Soraz refinery in Zinder is operated under a mixed management model between the state of Niger and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). According to LSI Africa, the context before the attack included the expulsion of Chinese executives from the plant by the military leadership, a move aimed at consolidating state control over the oil sector amid rising economic and political tensions. Due to the interruption of the supply of crude oil to the industrial complex, an important facility for the internal energy supply and the national economy was put out of operation.
As published by LSI Africa, the sabotage carried out by the MPLJ near Jaouro in the Agadem oil region had an immediate impact on urban sectors, businesses and basic services and hindered mobility, commerce and the continuity of essential activities such as public transport, electricity and access to water in both urban and rural areas. Businesspeople interviewed by the media reported direct economic losses, impacts on jobs and worsening social conditions in a country that was already facing energy constraints before the attack.
The MPLJ emerged as a splinter from the Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL) following the August 2023 coup that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum. While the FPL maintained its original organizational framework under the leadership of Mahmoud Sallah, the MPLJ launched an independent armed campaign in August 2024, with energy infrastructure as one of its main targets, to put pressure on the military junta, LSI Africa reported. In the statement claiming responsibility for the sabotage, the group warned that the offensive would not stop without official responses and stressed its intention to step up attacks if it senses that its claims are not being heeded.
According to LSI Africa, the military administration focused its response on increased surveillance and militarization of strategic points and also carried out the dismissal of key figures related to the hydrocarbon sector as part of its post-coup power centralization policy. Despite these measures, the junta has not yet released any response to the MPLJ’s warnings and demands, according to African media.
The energy situation caused by the closure of the pipeline highlighted Niger’s dependence on foreign investment and technical knowledge, as well as institutional fragility in the management of critical resources, according to LSI Africa. The decision to expel Soraz’s Chinese directors worsened bilateral relations with the CNPC in a scenario of conflicting alliances and disputes over control of the national oil industry. These events exacerbated economic and social insecurity and fueled distrust in the military government’s ability to ensure regular supplies of fuel and the survival of public services.
LSI Africa noted that the emergence of the MPLJ increased fragmentation and competition between the various armed groups active after the 2023 political crisis. The presence of rival factions in oil regions and strategic national security regions has led to a multiplication of violent episodes, weakening the ability to govern and making it difficult for the state to consolidate control over the territory. The MPLJ’s repeated threats, together with the ongoing effects of shortages, have further limited the scope of military power and exacerbated social and economic vulnerabilities.
The fuel shortage, which worsened in 2025, restricted population mobility, increased the operating costs of businesses and undermined the provision of vital services – a situation that, according to LSI Africa, exacerbated the social unrest and insecurity affecting large parts of the Nigerian population. The difficulties in accessing energy and the decline in employment resulting from the energy crisis have created a scenario of tension that reinforces the historic challenges facing the authorities in maintaining social cohesion and responding to the urgent needs of citizens.
As the African media emphasizes, the confrontation between the MPLJ and the military junta symbolizes the ongoing structural problems in Niger, characterized by institutional weakness, the separation between the central power and the population, and the difficulty of managing strategic resources in an environment characterized by external interests and internal rivalries. Threats to maintain or increase sabotage increase feelings of instability and insecurity, impacting both economic actors and households in the country.
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