NIAMEY (Niger) • At least 70 civilians were killed in simultaneous attacks on two villages by suspected Islamist militants in Niger, near the border zone with Mali, security sources said.

About 49 villagers were killed and 17 wounded in the village of Tchombangou, said one of the security sources, who requested anonymity.

A second source, a senior official in Niger's Interior Ministry who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said around 30 other villagers had been killed in the village of Zaroumdareye.

Niger's government was not immediately available to comment.

The West African nation has suffered attacks by Islamist militants linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Attacks near the western border with Mali and Burkina Faso, and the south-eastern border with Nigeria, killed hundreds of people last year.

Meanwhile, Niger's ruling party candidate Mohamed Bazoum is set to face former president Mahamane Ousmane in a presidential election run-off next month, according to provisional results of the first round of the contest announced by the electoral commission on Saturday.

Mr Bazoum led the first round, with 39.33 per cent of the vote, falling short of the 50 per cent needed to win outright in the first round. Mr Ousmane received 17 per cent of the vote.

The second round is expected to be held on Feb 21 after the first round's results have been validated by the constitutional court that will hear any appeals.

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou is stepping down after two five-year terms, which is expected to lead to Niger's first transfer of power between two democratically elected presidents.

The incoming president will inherit several challenges, including rising violence from Islamist militants.

REUTERS