Niger has declared two days of national mourning from today, after at least 69 people were killed in an attack by suspected Islamist insurgents.
The attack happened in the country’s south-west, near the border with Mali.
The government said the Victims included a local mayor and the leader of a self-defence militia.
No group has claimed responsibility for the bloodshed, which took place on Tuesday.
The assailants fled across the border into Mali, reportedly taking their own dead away with them.
Niger is facing jihadist insurgencies on its borders with Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria.
