Assamakka (Agenzia Fides) - Niger's Interior Ministry announced the recent discovery of the bodies of 34 migrants, among them also 20 children, in a desert area near the border with Algeria. Among the 14 adults there are 9 women and 5 men. They were abandoned by people smugglers and probably died of thirst.

In the statement, the Government added that the bodies were found near Assamakka, referring to a border post between Niger and Algeria. Niger is part of one of the main migration routes between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa, and the International Organization for Migration estimates that, in 2015, about 120 thousand people crossed the Niger Agadez region. (AP)