At
least 44 African migrants died of thirst and fatigue en route to
Libya after their bus broke down in the middle of the desert of
northern Niger on Sunday.
According to
local officials, the victims included three babies, two children and
17 women. Six survivors who managed to walk to the remote village of
Ashougour are currently being treated at the Dirkou migrant center.
The Red
Cross has dispatched a team to the site to investigate the
circumstances of the tragedy.
Most of the
dead migrants were reportedly from Ghana and Nigeria. The journey
from Niger to Libya has become a major route for West African
migrants making their way towards Europe. From the Libyan coast,
increasing numbers of migrants each year attempt a dangerous crossing
across the Mediterranean to Italy.
Only last
year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) documented
335,000 migrants heading northwards out of Niger. By mid-April this
year, Italy had registered nearly 42,500 migrants coming by sea, 97
percent of them arriving from Libya.
"Since
the end of 2016 there's been more controls against the trafficking of
people, but there's a trend showing people are willing to take even
more risks now," said International Committee of the Red
Cross spokeswoman Aurelie Lachant.
Crossing the
Sahara desert remains one the most perilous parts of the trip.
Earlier in May, soldiers on patrol in northern Niger rescued around
40 migrants from various West African countries who had been
abandoned in the desert by people-smugglers they had paid to get to
Libya.
Source:
Comments
Post a Comment