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34 Migrants Dead Including 20 Children in Sahara Desert

Hostile conditions mean only a fraction of those who die trying to cross the area are ever found Hostile conditions mean only a fraction of those who die trying to cross the area are ever found © Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters

16 June 2016
The bodies of 34 migrants have been found in the desert after trying to reach Algeria.

Between June 6-12, 34 migrants were abandoned by their smugglers and died in the Niger Desert. The victims were five men, nine women, and 20 children.  It is believed they died of thirst while trying to cross the desert.  They were found near Assammakka, a border post between Niger and Algeria.  So far, only two of the bodies have been identified, a man and woman both from Niger.

Temperatures in that region can reach 42° C.  Powerful sandstorms are also common leading to only a fraction of those who have died trying to cross being found.  It is estimated that 37 migrants died in the desert last year.  Approximately 120,000 crossed through northern Niger last year according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

 

To know more, read:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/dozens-refugees-dead-niger-desert-160616042040734.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/16/bodies-migrants-found-niger-desert-people-smugglers-algeria
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36545015
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/16/34-migrants-including-20-children-found-dead-in-niger-desert/

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