Dozens die of thirst crossing Sahara

A t l e a s t 4 4 m i g r a n t s , including babies, have died of thirst after their vehicle broke down in the Sahara Desert as they were making their way to Libya, an official in Niger said yesterday.

N i g e r i s a ma j o r r o u t e for West African migrants making their way toward E u r o p e . S o m e 3 0 0,0 0 0 migrants passed through t h e v a s t We s t A f r i c a n n a t i o n i n 2 0 1 6 a l o n e , according to the Internat i o n a l O r g a n i s a t i o n f o r Migration.

M o s t o f t h e d e a d migrants were from Ghana, said the prefect of Dirkou locality, Bachir Manzo. The victims included three babies, two children and 17 women. The official said six people survived.

It is impossible to know how many migr a nt s a r e l ost i n t he deser t as t hey make their way north.

The bodies were discovered just days after Niger’s P r e s i d e n t M a h a m a d o u I s s o u f o u made a p l e a t o the leaders of G- 7 industrialised nations to address the migration crisis during a meeting in Taormina, Sicily.