Assamaka faces large migration flows, which can be difficult to manage for this vast, sparsely populated area with around a thousand inhabitants, including migrants. About 1,300 vulnerable migrants pass through this city every month.
In Niger, the Assamaka transit center has more than 4,000 migrants including Malians, Guineans, Ivorians, Syrians, Bangladeshis. They arrived there after being expelled from Algeria.
Assamaka faces large migration flows, which can be difficult to manage for this vast, sparsely populated area with around a thousand inhabitants, including migrants. Unfortunately, residents and migrants are almost on their own and are not supported.
This situation also puts pressure on available and limited local resources, creating frustration and tension between migrants and host communities.
The living conditions in the camp push migrants to commit crimes, which has sparked fear but also anger among the town’s 1,500 residents.
The small town of Assamaka is located in the northwest of Niger, in the region of Agadez which is in the heart of the Sahara. Assamaka is fifteen kilometers from the border with Algeria. It is also an essential transit point for migrants on way to Algeria or returning from Algeria to Niger.
About 1,300 vulnerable migrants pass through the city of Assamaka every month. Migrants who cross the barrier of this camp are under the administration of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).