The family of an Australian couple abducted in West Africa have urged their captors to "strive constructively for peace" and release them.
Dr Ken Elliott and his wife Jocelyn are believed to have been abducted by Islamist extremists following an attack on the Burkina Faso capital of Ouagadougou last week that killed 28 people.
The West Australian couple, aged in their 80s, moved to Burkina Faso in 1972 to set up a medical clinic in the town of Djibo in the country's north.
A statement released through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Tuesday said the family were heartened by the support of the Burkinabe people "who clearly consider Ken and Jocelyn to be one of their own".
"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," a family spokesman said in the statement.
"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 family also expressed their sympathy over the attack on the nation's capital.
Hundreds of people in Burkina Faso have also called for the release of the elderly Australian couple.
A Facebook page called Djibo soutient Dr Ken Elliott (Djibo supports Dr Ken Elliott) has attracted numerous comments expressing hope for the couple's release.
"I am hopeful that they will come back to us healthy," said one post.
"We love you very much and pray for your release. God bless you and give you the strength needed for us to come back in good health," said another comment.
Images posted to the page purport to show a gathering of hundreds of people rallying for the couple's release at a local high school, with people holding signs saying "Liberes Eliote (free Elliott)".
Dr Elliott performed 150 surgical operations a month in the Djibo hospital he designed and built himself, according to a 2013 Global Business Services newsletter.
He is the sole surgeon at the clinic and has spoken in the past about the significant need for modern medicine in the West Africa.
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