NIAMEY: Dozens of Nigerien migrants heading for Algeria died of thirst in the desert south of the Sahara after their vehicle broke down, local officials said yesterday, while police said 19 survived.
“About 40 Nigeriens, including numerous children and women, who were attempting to emigrate to Algeria, died of thirst in mid-October,” Rhissa Feltou, the mayor of the main northern town of Agadez said.
“Many others have been reported missing since their vehicle broke down in the desert,” he said. “Travellers told us that they saw and counted up to 35 bodies, mostly those of women and children, by the road,” said Abdourahmane Maouli, the mayor of the northern uranium mining town of Arlit.
The army has found the bodies of two women and three adolescents, a paramilitary policeman said. No other bodies have so far turned up. According to Feltou, two vehicles carrying “at least” 60 would-be emigrants left Arlit “around October 15”, heading for Tamanrassett, an Algerian town in the heart of the Sahara. AFP
