34 migrants die of thirst, hunger in Niger desert

A total of 34 migrants have died of thirst and hunger in the Niger desert, authorities have said.

"All these people died of thirst and hunger and their bodies were discovered some 40 km from Assamaka region near the border with Algeria," Alat Moutgaskia, head of Arlit region in northern Niger, told Xinhua on telephone Wednesday.

He said the migrants were part of a team that was being smuggled and managed to escape the check-point in the locality as they were heading to Algeria.

The victims included five men, nine women and 20 children, all abandoned by the smugglers, a statement from Niger's interior ministry said.

The interior ministry warned those who wish to migrate illegally on the risks they may face on "this perilous journeys organized by smugglers and intermediaries".

Moutgaskia told Xinhua that smugglers abuse the illegal migrants and appealed for enhanced patrols by Nigerien and Algerian authorities.

In April, we intercepted a truck carrying 153 people, most of them minors, Moutgaskia recalled.

Last year, 33 people were found dead near the border between Niger and Algeria, as they tried to reach the Mediterranean sea.

In October 2013, some 92 migrants, most of them women and children, died of thirst and hunger when they tried to cross the desert to reach Algeria. Enditem