Algerian authorities deport thousands of migrants to Niger, accuses Human Rights Watch ~ #AFP:

Since the start of the year, “more than 16,000 people” of at least twenty different nationalities have been expelled. Just over half were Nigeriens.

“Algeria certainly has the right to protect its borders but not to place in arbitrary detention and collectively expel migrants, including children and asylum seekers, in the absence of due process,” protested Lauren Seibert from HRW, quoted in a statement received in Beirut.

The NGO reports raids in at least nine towns in Algeria in recent weeks, during which “the police apprehended migrants in the streets, at their homes and at their workplaces”.

It also denounces the failure to respect expulsion procedures, ill-treatment and conditions of detention.

“The Algerian authorities have gathered most of the Nigeriens in overcrowded trucks or buses, before handing them over to the Nigerien army, as part of + official + repatriation convoys”, details HRW.

“Convoys carrying passengers of various nationalities were abandoned in the middle of the desert, near the Nigerian border,” according to the same source.

According to humanitarian organizations in Niger, more than 3,400 migrants, including children, have been forced to leave Algeria since the beginning of September. This is the highest level since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“Before deporting anyone, authorities should individually check the status of people under immigration or asylum laws and ensure that each request is considered individually by the courts,” urged Lauren Seibert.