Babies among 44 die of thirst in Niger desert

NIAMEY: At least 44 Libya-bound migrants, including women and babies, died of thirst after their vehicle broke down in the scorching Sahara desert of northern Niger, local officials said on Thursday.

“The number of migrants who died in the desert is 44 for now,” said Rhissa Feltou, the mayor of Agadez, a remote town on the edge of the Sahara that has become the smuggling capital of Africa.

A security source who asked not to be named said “the sub-Saharan migrants, including babies and women, died of thirst because their vehicle broke down”.

The arid dusty town in central Niger is a major transit point for migrants seeking work in Libya or Algeria or trying to reach the sea to sail to Europe.

Last year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded 335,000 migrants heading northwards out of Niger.

Many perish while trying to cross the desert in crammed pick-up trucks with often meagre provisions of water as jerrycans carrying fuel take priority.

To protect themselves from the sand and sun, the migrants cover up from head to toe, most wearing hoods, sunglasses, jackets and gloves.

Temperatures in Agadez currently hover around 40 degrees Celsius but have hit almost 50 degrees in the past.

The Red Cross, which said “at least 44 migrants have died”, dispatched a team to the site “to gather information” on the circumstances.

The 750 kilometre trip from Agadez to the Libyan border takes between two and three days with only very short petrol and toilet stops on the way.

In early May, eight migrants from Niger, five of them children, were found dead in the desert while heading to Algeria.