Eighteen civilians in Niger have been killed in a militant attack in the west of the country, the government says.

It said armed bandits on motorbikes attacked a truck transporting people between two villages in the Tillaberi region.

Western Niger – like neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso – has for years faced militant attacks, despite the efforts of international forces deployed to the wider Sahel region to fight the Islamist insurgents.

Both Niger’s neighbours now have military governments after army chiefs ousted civilian administrations, saying they had failed to tackle insurgencies. (BBC)