A coalition of NGOs under the Alarme Phone Sahara (APS) project has issued a strong condemnation of Algeria’s “ruthless” deportation policies and “inhumane” treatment of migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a recent report from APS project.
In APS’ report, the NGOs shed light on the dire conditions experienced by migrants, including those forcibly deported across Algeria’s southern borders, often into life-threatening environments.
The report describes the dire conditions under which migrants are deported, with multiple accounts of deaths resulting from neglect and abandonment. In May 2024 alone, at least five migrants reportedly perished after being left in the desert between the Algerian-Niger border at Point Zero and Assamaka.
Among them, two individuals who attempted to return to Algeria after being deported also died of harsh weather conditions in the desert.
Further illustrating the severity of the situation, the Assamaka clinic recorded three deaths in May 2024, including that of a three-year-old girl. In October 2024, a Pakistani deportee died shortly after arriving at the same clinic.
APS has repeatedly decried the inhumane nature of Algeria’s deportation convoys, which abandon wounded, exhausted, and ill migrants in uninhabitable desert areas.
The coalition’s report further criticizes Algerian security forces for their systematic targeting of migrant communities. It details frequent raids and mass arrests conducted at construction sites, informal settlements, and even abandoned buildings where migrants are known to reside.
Once apprehended, many are subjected to chain deportations, a process exacerbated by pushbacks from neighboring Tunisia and Libya, often conducted in coordination with European Union migration policies.
Since the newly established Maghreb alliance in April 2024, comprising Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya, deportation rates have surged. This alliance has intensified the repression of migrants along trans-Saharan routes.
While the aim is to stem migration flows to Europe, the repercussions have been devastating for migrants stranded in transit countries.
The situation in Niger, a major transit point for deportees, remains critical. Following the repeal of Niger’s restrictive 2015-036 migration law in November 2023 hopes for better migration conditions were raised.