Seven Niger election officials killed by land mine on poll day

Seven members of the electoral commission in Niger have been killed in a land mine explosion.

The team’s car drove over an improvised explosive device in the Tillaberi region in the south west.

It is not known whether the vehicle was deliberately targeted.

Nigeriens were voting on Sunday in the second round of the presidential election that will see the first democratic transition of power since independence from France in 1960.

The governing party’s Mohamed Bazoum, a former foreign and interior minister, secured 40% of the vote in the first round.

He is viewed as the favourite to win.

Outgoing President Mahamadou Issoufou is stepping down after two five-year terms.

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and is facing a security threat from Islamist militants in the Sahel.

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Source: BBC