- Fourteen people, including 12 Syrian migrants, discovered dead in Algeria’s Illizi province.
- Five individuals remain missing as search efforts continue.
- The victims were expelled from Libya and got lost in the desert.
In a tragic incident, fourteen migrants, including twelve Syrians, were found dead in Algeria’s southern desert province of Illizi. Among the deceased were a 10-year-old and a 16-year-old. Five other migrants remain missing as search efforts are ongoing, according to Bassem Farroukh, head of irregular migration at the Syrian embassy in Algeria.
The migrants, who had entered Algeria from Libya, were discovered on Saturday by the Search and Rescue Association, an NGO specializing in desert rescues. Farroukh criticized Libyan authorities, accusing them of expelling the migrants and forcing them to flee towards Algeria. He expressed concern that similar incidents may occur in the future as more Syrians attempt to escape Libya under dire conditions.
In a similar incident in 2016, 22 Syrians got lost in the Algerian desert after crossing from Niger but were eventually rescued by the Algerian army. Many Syrians and other irregular migrants journey to North Africa with the hope of crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Western Europe. Syria continues to face the world’s largest displacement crisis, with 13.8 million people forcibly displaced both inside and outside the country, according to the UNHCR.
