A group of about 100 migrants mostly Nigerians were saved from imminent death by the Niger troops after they were abandoned in the Sahara desert. The cgroup also consist migrants from Senegal and Burkina Faso.
Traffickers abandoned the group, which included women and children without water or food. The Niger-Libya route is one of the main gateways migrants use to reach North Africa before crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. An unconfirmed report indicated that one of the children died.
The group was very lucky as they were they abandoned near a well. The migrants are now being looked after by the International Organization for Migration in Dirkou, northern Niger.
IOM head of mission Giuseppe Loprete was quoted saying: (The smugglers) tell them that if they do not have money, they can not continue. So they are in a very vulnerable situation… And if they have no money or sometimes to avoid controls, migrants are abandoned and stay where they are.”
