Algeria has expelled nearly 20,000 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to Niger since January, often under harsh conditions, according to Alarme Phone Sahara, a Niamey-based NGO. These expulsions, which include women and children, are part of a longstanding practice by Algeria, a key transit point for migrants attempting to reach Europe through the Mediterranean Sea.
Alarme Phone Sahara, which assists migrants in the vast desert between Algeria and Niger, reported that 19,798 individuals were expelled from Algeria between January and August. The NGO highlighted that migrants are often expelled under “brutal conditions” and in some cases, face life-threatening consequences.
Migrants are typically arrested during raids in cities or at the Tunisian border and then gathered in Tamanrasset, a town in southern Algeria. From there, they are transported in trucks towards the Nigerien border. Nigerien nationals are taken to Assamaka, the first village in Niger across the border, where they are received by local authorities. However, migrants of other nationalities are abandoned at “point zero,” a desert area marking the border between Algeria and Niger, forcing them to walk 15 kilometers in extreme heat to reach Assamaka.
Upon arrival in Assamaka, migrants are registered by Nigerien police and housed in temporary centers run by the United Nations and Italy, before being moved to other facilities in northern Niger. Many migrants report suffering abuse, violence, and having their belongings confiscated by Algerian forces, according to the NGO’s communications officer, Moctar Dan Yaye.
Earlier this year, Niger’s new government asked Algeria’s ambassador to discuss the harsh treatment of deported migrants. Algeria replied by calling Niger’s envoy and saying the claims were unfounded. Since Niger removed a 2015 law against migrant trafficking last November, more migrants have been moving through the routes without fear of punishment, the NGO said.