Malian migrant Ibrahima has been chosen as a delegate of his country in a transit center managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Agadez, a city of Niger in the heart of the Sahara desert.
Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum has said that new accords are needed with Europe in order to manage migration properly. He has called for quotas linked to the needs of the job market in Europe.
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.
This week, a group of 51 refugees arrived in Rome. They were granted visas and scholarships through the 'UNICORE - University Corridors for Refugees project'. They will study at 33 Italian universities.
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.
Aid organization Oxfam has highlighted in a new report a dramatic increase in famine in areas severely affected by climate change. Global warming is bringing more extreme weather events such as droughts, hurricanes and floods to some of the poorest parts of the planet, which could fuel new migration patterns.
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have already faced years of unrest and climate distress. But growing food insecurity and conflict have compounded pressures, raising concerns in Brussels and Geneva about an increase in attempts to reach Europe.
The EU and Niger have announced plans to work together more closely to bring an end to the activities of people smugglers. A new initiative launched last week is intended to deepen the cooperation between the two. This comes as Niger's role in combatting terrorism in the region is also increasing.
The UN migration agency IOM confirmed that 44 West African migrants were rescued in the Nigerien desert on July 6. They were on their way to Libya.
The head of the EU's border agency Frontex issued a warning, saying that the bloc must prepare for a fresh wave of migrants coming to Europe, as people across the globe could be uprooted due to a food crisis exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.
A group of ten migrants was found dead in Niger, not far from the Libyan border, confirmed the Nigerian military. Authorities are investigating the cause of death but thirst is one supposition.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has strongly criticized the treatment of refugees and migrants in the border region of Niger, Algeria and Libya. With thousands of migrants being forcefully deported to Niger's Sahel region each year, the aid organization blamed the EU for its policy of strengthening border controls in African nations in a bid to keep migrants and refugees away.