Niamey (Niger), 16/03/2023 (MAP) – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) denounced on Thursday abandoning thousands of migrants, expelled by Algeria, in Assamaka, a town in the Agadez region, located in northern Niger.
Thousands of migrants expelled from Algeria and abandoned in the desert (in the north) of Niger are stranded, without access to shelter, health care, protection or basic necessities, the NGO said in a statement referring to « an unprecedented » situation.
« Between 11 January and 3 March 2023, 4,677 migrants arrived into Assamaka, » the NGO noted, adding that fewer than 15% of them were able to access shelter or protection when they arrived.
The Integrated Health Centre (IHC) in Assamaka supported by MSF is « overwhelmed as thousands of migrants are seeking shelter in the facility. »
« The majority of people who have recently arrived in Assamaka have settled in the IHC compound, due to a lack of space in the transit centre, » said Schemssa Kimana, MSF project coordinator for Agadez, quoted in the statement.
