Gunmen in Niger have killed eight group of aid workers, their local guide and driver, officials say.

According to BBC, the gunmen arrived on motorcycles and opened fire, the governor of Tillabéri region, Tidjani Ibrahim, told the French news agency AFP.

They were in the Koure region, which is an epicentre to the tourists as they want to see herds of giraffe in West Africa.

BBC said, the French presidency confirmed the deaths of the French citizens.

The French nationals worked for an international aid group, Niger’s defence minister Issoufou Katambé told Reuters news agency. Earlier, officials had described them as tourists.

ACTED, a French humanitarian NGO, confirmed its staff members were involved in the occurrence in Niger.

President Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone with his Niger counterpart Mahamadou Issoufou on Sunday, a statement said, without giving further details.

In photos seen by the BBC, the victims’ bodies were found lying on a dirt road by the side of a 4×4 vehicle.