ABIDJAN: Armed men have killed at least 37 civilians in an ambush in western Niger near Burkina Faso and Mali, local sources said on Friday.
Niger, ruled by a military junta since a 2023 coup, is battling violence by jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, with thousands killed over the last decade.
The latest attack targeted villagers headed early on Thursday to a weekly market in the city of Tera in the restive Tillaberi region, a former elected official said.
Escorted by members of a local self-defence group, they "fell into an ambush by unidentified armed men", he told AFP.
He said 37 people were killed on the spot and another succumbed to their wounds a day later.
"Among the dead are 11 members of the self-defence group, along with seven women and 20 men," the former official said.
A Tera city resident said the attack killed 37 people including women and children.
Several people were wounded and have been taken to hospital, the resident said.
Niger's Tillaberi region on the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso has become the epicentre of the jihadist attacks.