Niger’s defence ministry has announced that 39 civilians, including women and children, have been killed in two separate attacks by suspected militants on border areas in the west of the country in recent days.

The ministry said the attacks targeted the villages of Kokoro and Liberi, without giving further details on the dates of the incidents.

Niger, along with neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, faces a growing threat from militants in the Sahel region, where an escalation began in 2012 when militants seized parts of Mali.