Sahara refugees rescued

THE UN migration agency in Niger has saved more than 600 lives since April through a new search and rescue operation that targets migrants stranded in the Sahara Desert.

However, many did not survive. A 22-year-old woman was the only female among the survivors of a rescue mission on May 28. She left Nigeria in April hoping to reach Europe. There were 50 refugees on the truck when it left Agadez for Libya, but only six are alive today.

“We were in the desert for 10 days. After five days, the driver abandoned us. During the next two days, 44 people died, so the six left started walking to look for help,” she said. ANA