Authorities in Portugal have arrested a total of 35 people on human trafficking charges in addition to allegations of money laundering and falsifying documents. Dozens of migrants were reported to have fallen prey to the trafficking ring.
Zaki Hannache, an Algerian activist who applied for asylum in Tunisia, has said that he has obtained refugee status in Tunisia. The UN refugee agency UNHCR has not commented so far.
For several weeks, the repatriation of migrants expelled from Algeria to Niger has been very slow, and the transit camps in the region are overwhelmed. As they face geopolitical upheavals, consular complications, and logistical difficulties, the patience of some migrants is put to the test. Mehdi Chebil reports for InfoMigrants.
At least four people have been confirmed dead, up to three are reported missing and seven migrants were rescued after their boat ran into trouble between Algeria and the Italian island of Sardinia on Sunday, authorities said.
Every year, Algeria expels thousands of sub-Saharan Africans to Niger, abandoning them at a place called Point-Zero on the border in the middle of the Sahara. The Nigerien village of Assamaka, a few hours south by foot, has been overwhelmed by these waves of successive pushbacks. Mehdi Chebil reports for InfoMigrants.
Algerian TV reports that 16 people were killed after two pickup trucks collided in the south of the country. Among the victims were 13 Guineans, a Malian and two Algerians. Three people were also seriously injured.
The French government has declared that it must "do better" on the expulsion of irregular migrants from the country, after criticism from the far-right opposition in the wake of the violent murder of a 12-year-old in Paris. The main suspect in the murder case is a 24-year-old homeless Algerian woman with psychiatric problems.
A little over a year ago, Skander, 21, boarded an inflatable boat on a beach in western Algeria, headed for Spain. Since then, there has been no sign of life from the young man and 11 other passengers. Skander's older brother Ryad, who stayed in Algeria, spends his days and nights looking for him.
Abdelkarim Bendjeriou-Sedjerari from Algeria will not receive refugee status in Germany, a German administrative court has ruled. The asylum seeker says he fears for his life in his home country because he is gay.
A Tunisian citizen accused of transporting migrants illegally from North Africa to Italy has been arrested by border police in Ventimiglia, northwest Italy. The suspect was wanted over a migrant landing at the end of July on the Sicilian island of Pantelleria.
Algerian television news reported that the bodies of six migrants were retrieved off the country’s coast after their boat sunk on Monday. Six survivors meanwhile were rescued. Search operations reportedly still continue for an unspecified number of missing people.
Italy's prime minister Mario Draghi visited Algeria on Monday. The summit was one in a long line of deepening relations between the two countries, which began most recently last November. Energy, migration and stability in the Mediterranean were on the agenda.