Niger is quite annoyed by all the abusive repatriation of Sub-Saharan migrants trying to go to Europe via Algeria. The country’s authorities inform of the expulsion two weeks ago of 955 West African migrants to Agadez (Northern Niger at the Algeria-Niger border) where is located the migrants transit center. Over the past two months, nearly 8,000 migrants including 2,800 Niger citizens suffered the same fate.

Concerning the situation, the governor of Niamey, Sadou Soloké, told RFI: “These migrants arrive through our borders when, I believe, they should all be returned to their homes, through appropriate routes, instead of just dumping them here. This causes us an issue, in terms of hosting capacity” 

Amongst the 955 migrants expulsed two weeks ago, more than 300 are from Mali.

Niamey does not understand why Algiers repatriate Malian migrants to its territory while they both share a border also (Algeria and Mali). 

Migrants’ inflow is a real challenge for Northern African nations, as they are the preferred routes of migrants attempting to reach Europe. Given that Niger is a point of contact between North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, it has become a route of predilection for these migrants.

Meanwhile, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) notes that there was a significant decrease in migratory flows.