Gunmen ambush and kill 69 in Niger’s troubled borderlands

Attack on mayor's delegation adds to 530 already killed by jihadist groups in southwest Niger this year

Gunmen killed 69 people including a local mayor in a jihadist attack in a remote area of south-west Niger, the country's interior minister has confirmed, amid a wave of violence against civilians that has swept the country this year.

A delegation led by the mayor of Banibangou was ambushed on Tuesday about 50 km (30 miles) from the town, near the border with Mali. The area is overrun by militants associated with a local affiliate of Islamic State that has killed hundreds of civilians in rural communities this year.