At least 70 civilians were killed in simultaneous attacks on two villages by suspected Islamic militants in Niger, near the border with Mali, security sources said.
About 49 residents were killed and 17 injured in the village of Tchombangou, said one of the security sources on Saturday, who requested anonymity.
A second source, a senior Nigerian interior ministry official who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said about 30 other residents were killed in the village of Zaroumdareye.
The Nigerian government was not immediately available for comment.
Niger had already suffered attacks from Islamic militants linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State. Attacks near the western border with Mali and Burkina Faso, and on the southeastern border with Nigeria, killed hundreds of people last year.