Aware Migrants

Troops in northern Niger have rescued 92 migrants who were on the brink of death in the Sahara Desert, an army statement has said.

Traffickers abandoned the group, which included women and children, without water and food, it added.

One migrant died after being taken to a relief centre, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said. (…)

The rescued migrants, who included at least 30 women and babies, were being looked after at a facility in the garrison town of Dirkou in northern Niger, the IOM said.

“Usually what happens in such situations is that smugglers try to exploit them,” IOM head of mission Giuseppe Loprete told BBC Focus on Africa.

“They ask for more money when they are in the middle of the desert. If they don’t pay, they are abandoned.”

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Source: read the complete report on BBC.com