Two Australians kidnapped in Burkina Faso

Two Australians have been kidnapped by militants in northern Burkina Faso, the country’s security ministry has confirmed.

The couple – a doctor and his wife – were kidnapped near the country's border with Mali.

They ran a clinic and had lived in the country since 1972, according to Burkina Faso's president.

It had earlier wrongly been reported that the couple were Austrian.