The family of two Australians kidnapped by extremists in Burkina Faso have pleaded for their release as they express gratitude for messages of support from Australia and internationally.

Surgeon Ken Elliott and his wife Jocelyn were kidnapped in Baraboule, near the West African country’s borders with Niger and Mali, officials said on Sunday.

The pair, who are originally from Perth, run a medical clinic in the nearby town of Djibo with about 120 beds, where Mr Eliott is the only surgeon.

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“The Elliott family wish to express their gratitude for the messages of encouragement they have been receiving from around Australia and abroad during this difficult time,” a family spokesman said in a statement issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Dr Ken Elliott treats a young patient at a clinic in Burkina Faso. Photo: ABC

“The Elliotts have been particularly heartened by the tremendous support of the Burkinabe people who clearly consider Ken and Jocelyn to be one of their own after all these years of providing surgical services to the region.

“The family would like to urge the Burkinabe people to continue to show patience as they share in our feelings of loss at this time.”

The statement called on those who took the couple, who a Malian Islamist group say are Al Qaeda-linked jihadists, to let their parents go.

“The Elliotts would urge those who have taken Ken and Jocelyn to strive constructively for peace, to the benefit of all people in the region, and release their parents safe and sound so that they may continue to assist those who are in need of their services,” the statement said.

It said the family also wanted to extend their sympathies to victims of a jihadist assault on a hotel in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, which left at least 29 people dead, including many foreigners.