Niger land feud kills seven

NIAMEY (AFP) - Clashes in southwestern Niger pitting farmers against herders over a long-disputed piece of land has left seven people dead, a local elder said Wednesday.

"There were at least seven killed and several huts were burned down," the elder told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that the violence in the Zou-Zou Sane area, south of the capital Niamey, erupted on Tuesday.

The clashes broke out after a court decision granted a disputed plot to one camp, ending a years-old dispute. Such feuds over access to water and pasture are frequent in the impoverished west African country.

According to the United Nations, Niger is among the most affected by a fresh food crisis which threatens six million people in the entire Sahel region.