8 killed in gunmen attack in Niger, including 6 French nationals

NIAMEY - Eight people including six French tourists and two Nigeriens (a guide and a driver) were killed on Sunday by armed individuals in the Koure area, according to the Nigerien ministry of interior and public security.

The Elysee Palace confirmed the incident. "French nationals were killed on Sunday in Niger," President Emmanuel Macron's office told French media and denounced the attack, adding that Macron had spoke by phone with Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou.

The victims, who went to visit giraffes in the Koure area about 70 km southeast of Niamey in the Kollo department, Tillabry region, were in a vehicle belonging to a French NGO Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development.

The vehicle was charred by the attackers, said the ministry in a statement, adding that an "investigation and search operations in collaboration with our partners are underway to find the perpetrators of this despicable act and to strengthen security in the area."

The Koure area bordering Burkina Faso has for over a year been a new hotbed of insecurity in the extreme southwest of the country.