NIAMEY: Around 100 people were killed by “terrorists” attacking two villages in western Niger, the local mayor said Sunday, the latest in a string of civilian massacres that have rocked the jihadist-plagued Tillaberi region.

The attacks on the villages of Tchoma Bangou and Zaroumadareye on Saturday were waged by “terrorists who came riding about a hundred motorcycles,” said Almou Hassane, the mayor of the Tondikiwindi commune that administers both villages.

“There were up to 70 dead in Tchoma Bangou and 30 dead in Zaroumadareye,” he told AFP, adding he had just returned from the scene of the attacks.