Latest news with #AlarmPhoneSahara
Libya Review
11-08-2025
- General
- Libya Review
Nigerien Soldiers Rescue Stranded Migrants Near Libya
The Nigerien army has announced the rescue of nearly 50 migrants stranded in the Sahara Desert close to the border with Libya, in one of the latest operations along a key route to Europe. According to the army's latest operational bulletin on Sunday, a military patrol saved 44 people, including four women, who had been stranded for over 24 hours on the Madama–Dao route after the breakdown of their vehicle. During a search of an area covering 20 kilometres, troops also located around 10 more migrants who had dispersed in search of water and food. Some of them were reportedly in a critical state of dehydration. The nationalities of the migrants, who were attempting to reach Libya, were not disclosed. The rescued individuals received medical treatment and food before being transferred to the town of Madama, a remote outpost near the Libyan border. The rescue highlights the dangers faced by migrants attempting to cross the Sahara on their way to the Mediterranean coast. Thousands of people from West Africa transit through Niger each year in hopes of reaching Europe via Libya or Algeria. Many die from dehydration, especially when abandoned by traffickers. Algeria has also deported large numbers of migrants. In 2024, the NGO Alarm Phone Sahara recorded 31,000 expulsions – the highest number on record – while Nigerien authorities reported 16,000 returns between January and June 2025. In November 2023, Niger's military government repealed a 2015 law that criminalised migrant smuggling, which had carried prison sentences of up to 30 years. Since then, according to NGOs, many migrants have moved more freely along traditional routes without fear of reprisals previously enforced under the law. Tags: ImmigrationlibyamigrantsNigerNiger Army
Libya Review
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Libya Review
Libya Deports Hundreds of Migrants to Niger
A Nigerien human rights organisation, Alarm Phone Sahara, reported that at least 783 migrants – most of them Nigerien nationals, including women and minors – were deported from Libya and returned to remote desert towns in northern Niger between 28 March and 25 April. The deportees remain stranded, as Niger's authorities refuse to allow them entry. The organisation revealed that the migrants had mostly been held in Libyan detention centres before being forcibly expelled. They were left in isolated towns such as Madama, Lataye, and Seguedine, all located in the desert region of Kawar, where access to humanitarian aid is limited. Alarm Phone Sahara confirmed one fatality among the 407 migrants in the latest convoy arriving in Madama on 25 April. This group included 10 Burkinabè and 7 Nigerians. The organisation also expressed deep concern over migrants reportedly stranded in the desert after their vehicle broke down, exposed to extreme weather without adequate resources. According to the group, Libyan security forces are pushing migrants southwards from areas under the control of the eastern-based General Command. Migrants are reportedly rounded up during public raids, placed on trucks, and either deported directly to southern Libya or detained before forced transfer to Niger. Testimonies gathered by the group describe strict controls along the Libya-Niger border, with Niger opposing the entry of non-Nigerien deportees and threatening to return them to Libya. The deportations sparked strong condemnation from Niger's Interior Minister Mohamed Toumba during an April meeting with an International Organization for Migration (IOM) delegation. Toumba labelled the expulsions 'unacceptable' and said they violated international cooperation norms. Since the July 2023 coup, Niger's junta repealed anti-human trafficking law 036/2015, prompting increased irregular migration flows to Libya and Algeria. The EU suspended its migration cooperation with Niger after the coup. Tags: DeportationImmigrationlibyamigrantsNiger
