Forty-nine citizens of Niger died of thirst in the desert, in the border area between Algeria, Niger and Mali, after the truck that was transporting them broke down, local authorities said Thursday.
The 49 people “died of thirst in a remote area more than 80 kilometers west of Assamaka”, according to authorities in the province of Agadez, which administers the area, stating that the travelers were returning from Mali.
“Deprived of water and unable to repair the vehicle, despite the efforts of the driver, his assistants and passengers, the travelers found themselves trapped in the middle of a hostile environment, where extreme temperatures and the absence of supply points make survival extremely difficult,” explained the provincial administration, adding that the victims were buried in mass graves.
According to authorities, “two people survived to this ordeal” and “traveled more than 50 kilometers on foot before reaching a pool of water and then Assamaka, where they were able to raise the alarm.”
This desert area, referred to by local authorities as “one of the most hostile environments on the planet”, a known transit point for African migrants seeking to reach Europe, is regularly the scene of tragedies of this type.
In 2025 at least 35 migrants died in the Niger desert, according to the non-governmental organization Alarm Phone Sahara (APS).
In October 2013, 92 Nigerian migrants (33 women, 52 children and seven men) died of thirst in the middle of the desert, in northern Niger, close to the border with Algeria, after being abandoned by traffickers following vehicle breakdowns. They were trying to reach Algeria.
More than 34 thousand migrants they were expelled from Algeria to neighboring Niger in 2025, according to the APS.
In late March, Algeria and Niger, which share a border 959 kilometers in the middle of the desert, they reinforced cooperation in the fight against “the terrorist threat”, cross-border crime and the increase in illicit trade.
