NIAMEY: The bodies of 87 migrants were found on Wednesday in Niger’s desert north after they died of thirst just a few kilometres from the border of Algeria, their planned destination, sources said.
The corpses of the seven men, 32 women and 48 children were in addition to five bodies of women and girls found earlier, a security source said.
All died in early October after a failed attempt to reach Algeria that began in late September, the source added.
Almoustapha Alhacen, from local aid organisation Aghir In’man, confirmed the death toll and gave a graphic account of discovering the bodies.
“The corpses were decomposed; it was horrible,” he said. “We found them in different locations in a 20-kilometre (12-mile) radius and in small groups, often under trees, or under the sun. Sometimes a mother and children, but some lone children too,” Alhacen said.
The bodies were buried according to Muslim rites, “as and when they were found,” added Alhacen.
Nigerien officials said on Monday that dozens of migrants, most of them women and children, had died of thirst in the Sahara desert earlier this month. (Agencies)
