Officials in Niger have arrested 127 migrants as
they attempted to cross the Sahara into Algeria,
sources say.
They were reportedly caught as they were leaving the
northern town of Arlit before dawn in five different
vehicles.
The migrants - mainly men, with some women and a
few children - are believed to be from Nigeria and
Niger.
It comes days after 92 migrants were found to have
died of thirst after two trucks broke down carrying
them across the Sahara to Algeria.
Niger lies on a major migrant route between sub-
Saharan Africa and Europe.
Those arrested on Saturday are now reportedly being
arrested by police in Arlit.
'Criminal activities'
The government announced on Friday a plan to close
illegal camps in northern Niger - which it referred to as
"ghettos" - and said those involved in trafficking
migrants would be "severely punished".
The country has been holding three days of mourning
after the bodies of 52 children, 33 women and seven
men were discovered on Wednesday.
Another five from the same convoy had been found
several days earlier by the army.
Most of the dead were from the southern Niger district
of Kantche.
The government said in its statement on Friday that the
tragedy was "the result of criminal activities led by all
types of trafficking networks".
About 5,000 African migrants are said to be currently
stranded in illegal camps in the northern town of
Agadez alone.
Most of these migrants - having paid large sums of
money to traffickers - are waiting to cross the hundreds
of kilometres of desert into Libya or Algeria, from
where they can take boats to Europe in the hope of a
better life there.
Niger has said that migrants found to be in the illegal
camps will be handed over to international aid agencies.
The head of the International Office for Migration in
Niger, Abibatou Wane, has welcomed the action by the
government but warned migrants should only be
repatriated to their home countries on a voluntary
basis.
Migration routes across the Sahara
desert
they attempted to cross the Sahara into Algeria,
sources say.
They were reportedly caught as they were leaving the
northern town of Arlit before dawn in five different
vehicles.
The migrants - mainly men, with some women and a
few children - are believed to be from Nigeria and
Niger.
It comes days after 92 migrants were found to have
died of thirst after two trucks broke down carrying
them across the Sahara to Algeria.
Niger lies on a major migrant route between sub-
Saharan Africa and Europe.
Those arrested on Saturday are now reportedly being
arrested by police in Arlit.
'Criminal activities'
The government announced on Friday a plan to close
illegal camps in northern Niger - which it referred to as
"ghettos" - and said those involved in trafficking
migrants would be "severely punished".
The country has been holding three days of mourning
after the bodies of 52 children, 33 women and seven
men were discovered on Wednesday.
Another five from the same convoy had been found
several days earlier by the army.
Most of the dead were from the southern Niger district
of Kantche.
The government said in its statement on Friday that the
tragedy was "the result of criminal activities led by all
types of trafficking networks".
About 5,000 African migrants are said to be currently
stranded in illegal camps in the northern town of
Agadez alone.
Most of these migrants - having paid large sums of
money to traffickers - are waiting to cross the hundreds
of kilometres of desert into Libya or Algeria, from
where they can take boats to Europe in the hope of a
better life there.
Niger has said that migrants found to be in the illegal
camps will be handed over to international aid agencies.
The head of the International Office for Migration in
Niger, Abibatou Wane, has welcomed the action by the
government but warned migrants should only be
repatriated to their home countries on a voluntary
basis.
Migration routes across the Sahara
desert
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