Algerian authorities brought together more than 1,800 migrants and left them at the border with Niger during a record expulsion earlier this month, said a group of migrant rights.
Alarmphone Sahara, who monitors migration in the region, said that migrants had been bus to a distant desert area known as “zero point” after being apprehended in Algerian cities.
Abdou Aziz Chehou, the national coordinator of the group, said that 1,845 migrants without legal status in Algeria had been counted, arriving in the border city of Niger d'Assamaka after mass expulsion on April 19.
This pushed the total number of expelled migrants arriving in Assamaka this month beyond 4,000, he said.
The figure does not include those who can try to return north to Algeria, added Chehou.
Mass deportations are involved in the midst of growing tensions between Algeria and its southern neighbors, all now led by military junts who have evident governments previously aligned with Algiers.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger withdrew their Algerian ambassadors earlier this month for border security disputes.
For migrants fleeing poverty, conflicts or climate change, Algeria serves as a transit point on Europe.
Many growing vast stretches of the Sahara before trying dangerous trips through the Mediterranean.
However, reinforced maritime patrols have failed as increasing in transit countries with checked human rights and limited humanitarian aid.
In 2024, Alarmphone Sahara recorded more than 30,000 migrants expelled from Algeria.
Similar achievements have also been reported in neighboring Morocco, Tunisia and Libya.
Neither Algerian nor Nigerian officials commented on the last expulsions, who are rarely reported in the Algerian press.
In the past, the Nigerian authorities have declared that such actions seem to violate a 2014 agreement which only allows the deportation of Nigerian nationals through the border.
