More than 600 migrants from a dozen African countries have arrived in northern Niger after being turned back from Algeria, AFP learned from local authorities on Tuesday.
Some 669 deportees from Algeria, including two Nigeriens and 667 nationals from West and Central Africa, arrived "
on foot
" on September 17 in Assamaka, the Nigerien town closest to the Algerian border, after being deported from neighboring Algeria, local authorities told AFP.
Of the 667 migrants, there are 648 men, 14 women and 5 minors.
There are 286 Malians, 166 Guineans, 37 Burkinabés, 27 Senegalese and 25 Beninese.
The group also includes 22 Ivorians, 21 Gambians, 21 Sudanese, 19 Nigerians and 14 Cameroonians and 14 Sierra Leoneans.
In addition, nationals of Chad, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Togo are among those returned.
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“
Wave of migrants
”
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) "
confirmed
" to AFP "
the arrival of the wave of migrants
" from Algeria, without however advancing the number.
“
We are ready to help them.
Migrants who wish to join our assisted voluntary return program can be admitted at our transit center in Assamaka
,” IOM assured.
On September 6, some 847 migrants, mostly Nigeriens and including 40 women and 74 unaccompanied children, arrived in Agadez after being turned back from Algeria, the municipality of this large northern city told AFP. from Niger.
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Considered an El Dorado and a transit point to Europe, Algeria has expelled tens of thousands of irregular migrants from West and Central Africa since 2014, according to the United Nations.
Some of these migrants try to survive in Algeria, often by begging, but a large number seek above all to reach Europe.
At the beginning of July, the IOM announced that it had rescued fifty West African migrants, including women and children, "
stranded
" in the desert north of Niger, near the border with Libya, another transit point for illegal immigrants to Europe.
In June, the organization Médecins sans frontières (MSF) denounced "
the inhuman treatment
" inflicted on West African migrants seeking to reach Europe and of whom "
about 2,000
" are "
on average monthly
" turned back from Algeria and from Libya to neighboring Niger.
Algeria, which has no asylum legislation, has often denied these accusations, denouncing a "
malicious campaign
".
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