Algeria abandons Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Niger border desert

Algeria has forced over 60 refugees from Syria and Palestine from Oran to the desert border of Niger where they were abandoned to their fate, Syrian media reported.

This constitutes a clearcut case of refoulement which is banned under the Geneva convention, according to human rights NGOs, which deplore the media blackout regarding the fate of thousands of refugees.

This comes ironically as Algiers hosts an Arab Summit which the Algerian regime is using to project a false image of a state that cares for the fate of Palestinians and Syrians.

Algeria has regularly been accused by non-governmental organizations and Algerian groups of treating migrants brutally, including arrest and dumping them in the desert without food or water.

Tens of thousands of irregular migrants from West and Central Africa have been expelled from Algeria since 2014, according to United Nations statistics.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) statistics indicate that numbers of migrants expelled have gone up over the past three years: 23,171 in 2020, 27,208 in 2021 and 14,196 in the period from January to May 2022 alone.