Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Eighty – three migrants were saved last week after their smugglers abandoned them in the Sahara desert in northern Niger, the International Organisation for Migration said on Tuesday.
A team from the IOM and Niger’ s Civil Protection service found the group 230 kilometers ( 140 miles) from the crossroads town of Dirkou on September 3, the agency said on Facebook .
The 83 comprised 75 Nigerians , 41 of them women, including twin four -year – old girls, as well as four Togolese , three Ghanaians, and a Malian.
They had left the Nigerien town of Agadez , the main stepping -off point for African migrants trying to cross into Europe via Libya, a week earlier .
On September 1, the migrants were abandoned by their four drivers, after first taking all their belongings, when they spotted military vehicles a year , the IOM said .
“ We were stranded for three days without food or water. We searched for water , but all we found were dirty wells used by livestock. So we were not able to drink at all , ” a 25- year -old Nigerian identified as Dennis told the IOM.
“ People were collapsing left and right. I started crying when I saw the cars approaching , hoping help was coming . ”
After receiving water , food, and medical care the migrants were taken to a coronavirus quarantine site , where they will be detained for 14 days .
The cross – Saharan migrant route to Europe is notorious for vehicle breakdowns in heat frequently exceeding 38 degrees Celsius ( 100 degrees Fahrenheit ) and abandonment by traffickers, fearing interception at checkpoints, or by military patrols.
More than 250 migrants were picked up in April near Madama , near Niger ’ s border with Libya.
( AFP)
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