Published 6th Apr, 2023

By Tola Owoyele

Nigerians have been identified to be among the 7,700 migrants stranded in Assamaka, a village located along a shared border between Niger Republic and Algeria.

According to Infomigrants, a news and information website for migrants, the stranded migrants are currently in need of food, clean water, shelter, medical assistance and protection.

The migrants were reportedly intercepted by Algerian and Libyan authorities while journeying to Europe through illegal routes and pushed into Assamaka.

From the border, the stranded migrants then walked 15 kilometres through the desert before getting to the village where refugee health centres are located.

Apart from Nigerians, other stranded migrants are said to have come from Mali, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Syrians and Bangladeshis also form part of the non-African stranded contingent.

The large size of migrants in this category is, however, beginning to have a negative effect on the original inhabitants of Assamaka, as some of the refugees have resorted to stealing residents’ animals and killing them for food.

“If there was enough to eat, people wouldn’t fight, but there is no food – what can they do? If they have nothing, they will fight each other just to stay alive,” one of the stranded migrants was quoted to have said.

The shelters meant for the refugees are also said to be overcrowded, as many of them now suffer from illness and infections.

To help resolve the crisis, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency, has offered the migrants a voluntary return programme. The initiative is aimed at helping them return to their countries of origin.

The organisation is also willing to help reintegrate them into their societies upon their return to their countries.

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