Earlier this month, Algerian authorities expelled over 1,800 migrants, leaving them at the border with Niger, according to a migrant rights organization based in Niger.
Alarmphone Sahara, which tracks migration in the area, reported that the migrants were transported to a remote desert location known as ‘Point Zero’ after being detained in various Algerian cities.
Abdou Aziz Chehou, the national coordinator for the group, informed The Associated Press that 1,845 undocumented migrants were recorded arriving in the Nigerien border town of Assamaka following the mass expulsion on April 19.
This incident raised the total number of expelled migrants reaching Assamaka this month to over 4,000. Chehou noted that this count does not account for those who might try to return to Algeria.
The mass deportations occur amid escalating tensions between Algeria and its southern neighbors, all of which are currently governed by military juntas that have replaced previously elected administrations aligned with Algeria.
Earlier this month, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger withdrew their ambassadors from Algeria due to disputes over border security. For many migrants escaping poverty, conflict, or climate change, Algeria acts as a transit country on their way to Europe.
Numerous individuals traverse extensive areas of the Sahara before attempting perilous crossings of the Mediterranean Sea.
However, increased maritime patrols have left many stranded in transit nations with poor human rights records and limited humanitarian support.
In 2024, Alarmphone Sahara documented over 30,000 migrants expelled from Algeria. Similar pushbacks have been reported in neighboring countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya.
Neither Algerian nor Nigerien officials have provided comments regarding the recent expulsions, which are seldom covered in the Algerian media.
In the past, Nigerien authorities have indicated that such actions may breach a 2014 agreement permitting only Nigerien nationals to be deported across the border.
