People marching in the desert from "Point Zéro" to Assamaka, March 18 2026 © Alarme Phone Sahara
At least 14,602 people were deported from Algeria to Niger between January 18 and May 17, 2026, according to observations by the Alarm Phone Sahara team in Assamaka, on the Niger-Algeria border. After more than 34,000 people—a number never before reached—were deported from Algeria to Niger in 2025, these mass deportations continue at an equally high level.
Once again, a large number of Nigerien nationals are affected, including many children and adolescents. There are also people from many countries, mainly in Africa, most of whom are deported in “unofficial convoys” and abandoned at “Point Zero,” in the desert, 15 km from Assamaka, by what are known as “unofficial deportation convoys”.
Among the notable developments, it is particularly worth noting that many Nigeriens, who are usually deported from Algeria by “official” convoys, are now also being loaded onto “unofficial” deportation convoys.
In addition to Nigerien nationals, the main groups of origin among those affected by these mass deportations are nationals of Mali, Guinea-Conakry, and Nigeria.
Refugees caught in a limbo between borders
Among those deported, there are regularly also nationals from Sudan—where the war since 2023 has caused the world’s largest displacement crisis — as well as from Chad, the neighboring country that has also been plagued by war and violence for years. On several occasions, people from these countries—and sometimes from other countries as well—have been sent back by the Nigerien police across the border to Algeria.
In the scenario of mass deportations, victims of war and displacement are caught in a limbo and pushed around between borders, and from the side of the UNHCR, there seems to be no solution for them to find access to international protection and a safe place.
Inhumane transport and abandonment in the desert
People with injuries abandoned at "Point Zéro", waiting for rescue © Alarme Phone Sahara
For those affected, deportations from Algeria are synonymous with systematic violence, theft, and trauma inflicted by Algerian security forces.
The Alarme Phone Sahara team in Assamaka regularly visits “Point Zero” to distribute water and food kits and to retrieve people who, after their deportation, are no longer able to walk the 15 km separating them from the village. Between January and May 2026, the team also had to repeatedly take in and transport to the local clinic people arriving with injuries resulting from abuse; this time, there were also cases of people severely disoriented due to trauma.
Being abandoned in the middle of the night in the desert poses an additional danger to those affected. Under these conditions, it is too risky, even for the dedicated rescuers of the APS team, to enter this area due to the prevailing insecurity, and the sick and injured must wait until the next day.
It is with dismay that the Nigerien team of Alarme Phone Sahara also noted that the Algerian state continued, even during Ramadan 2026, its ruthless deportation policy.
The European Union’s Deals
The Algerian state’s inhumane deportation practices are further encouraged by the agreements concluded by EU member states with states in the subregion:
Since the signing in 2023 of the “Memorandum of Understanding” with Tunisia, more and more people have been subjected to a chain of deportations from Tunisia to Algeria, and from there to the Nigerien border.
Germany and Italy, among others, are also engaged in police cooperation with Algeria itself, focused on combating migration. Encouraged by European actors, the Algerian, Libyan, and Tunisian governments have joined forces within a “Maghreb Alliance” to coordinate their actions against people on the move.
Algeria – subject of international criticism
In this context, it should also be noted that in a statement dated May 13, 2026, UN experts expressed their deep concern over the alleged repression targeting civil society in Algeria, particularly organizations advocating for the cause of missing persons. This statement follows, in particular, incommunicado detentions, as well as acts of harassment and intimidation.
The repression and persecution of members of Algerian civil society go hand in hand with practices that violate the human rights of people on the move.
It is therefore all the more necessary to exert international pressure on the Algerian government, but also on European states which, through their agreements with Maghreb countries, facilitate practices that violate human rights and foster authoritarian abuses.
Alarme Phone Sahara is committed to active and practical solidarity with all people on the move and to the defense of human rights and freedom of movement, and demands:
- Stop pushbacks from Algeria, Tunisia and Libya to Niger!
- Stop all deportations—everywhere!
- Freedom of movement between the countries of the Sahel and the Sahara under dignified and safe conditions!
- No to agreements for the externalization of European borders in Africa!
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Chronology of deportations from Algeria to Niger between January and May 2026:
January 18, 2026:
677 people, including 21 adult women, 3 minor girls, one minor boy, and 652 adult men, deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
133 nationals of Guinea-Conakry, 151 from Niger, 122 from Mali, 95 from Nigeria, 44 from Benin, 6 from Burkina Faso, 40 from Cameroon, 40 from Côte d’Ivoire, 2 from Bangladesh, 7 from The Gambia, 8 from Senegal, 11 from Sierra Leone, 2 from Sudan, 5 from Chad, 5 from Togo, one person from Congo-Brazzaville, one from the Central African Republic, one from Ethiopia, one from Guinea-Bissau, one from Ghana, and one from Liberia.
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January 20, 2026:
1,036 Nigerien nationals, including 30 adult women, 46 minor girls, 35 minor boys, and 925 adult men, deported in an “official convoy” aboard 12 trucks and 2 vans. They were then transported to Arlit.
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January 24, 2026:
415 people, including 14 adult women, one minor girl, and 400 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
63 nationals of Guinea-Conakry, 81 from Niger, 92 from Mali, 82 from Nigeria, 38 from Benin, 2 from Burkina Faso, one person from Cameroon, 21 from Côte d’Ivoire, 12 from The Gambia, 8 from Sierra Leone, 9 from Sudan, 2 from Chad, 2 from Togo, and 2 from Ghana.
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January 26, 2026:
351 Nigeriens, including 10 adult women, 17 minor girls, 4 minor boys, and 320 adult men, deported in an “official convoy” aboard 9 trucks and a van. They were then transported to Arlit.
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February 3, 2026:
568 people, including 3 adult women, 3 minor boys, and 562 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
51 nationals of Guinea-Conakry, 257 from Niger, 61 from Mali, 85 from Nigeria, 30 from Benin, 5 from Burkina Faso, 14 from Cameroon, 22 from Côte d’Ivoire, 17 from Sudan, 25 from Chad, and one person from Sierra Leone.
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February 5, 2026:
581 people, including 11 adult women, 15 minor girls, 18 minor boys, and 537 adult men, were deported in an “official convoy” aboard 10 trucks and 2 vans.
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
541 nationals of Niger, 15 of Nigeria, 14 of Mali, 5 of Sudan, 5 of Guinea-Conakry, and one person from Benin.
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February 9, 2026:
533 people, including 26 adult women, 5 minor boys, one minor girl, and 501 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero ."
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
74 nationals 204 from Guinea-Conakry, 204 from Niger, 55 from Mali, 111 from Nigeria, 3 from Benin, 16 from Burkina Faso, 9 from Cameroon, 22 from Côte d’Ivoire, 27 from Sudan, 6 from Sierra Leone, 3 from Senegal, one person from The Gambia, one from Ghana, and one from Togo.
The Alarme Phone Sahara team rescued several abandoned individuals with serious injuries to their legs and feet who were unable to walk.
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February 13, 2026:
141 people, including one adult woman and 140 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
37 nationals from Guinea-Conakry, 46 from Mali, 14 from Nigeria, 6 from Benin, 4 from Burkina Faso, 8 from Cameroon, 14 from Côte d’Ivoire, 7 from Sierra Leone, 3 from Senegal, one person from Gabon, and one from Togo.
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February 13, 2026:
279 people, including 11 adult women, 6 minor girls, 7 minor boys, and 255 adult men, were deported in an “official convoy” aboard 4 trucks and a van and then transported to Arlit.
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
262 nationals of Niger, 3 from Nigeria, 2 from Mali, 3 from Sudan, 6 from Benin, one person from Cameroon, one from Chad, and one from Togo.
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February 19, 2026:
409 Nigerien nationals, including 10 adult women, 6 minor girls, 3 minor boys, and 390 adult men, were deported in an “official convoy” aboard 5 trucks and a van.
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February 19, 2026:
194 people deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
48 nationals of Guinea-Conakry, 48 from Mali, 20 from Nigeria, 51 from Niger, 4 from Benin, 6 from Burkina Faso, 4 from Cameroon, 6 from Côte d’Ivoire, 5 from Sierra Leone, one person from The Gambia, and one from Sudan.
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February 24, 2026:
375 people, including 19 adult women and 356 adult men, deported in an “official convoy” aboard 4 trucks and a van.
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
351 nationals of Niger, 18 of Nigeria, and 6 of Sudan.
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March 6, 2026:
309 people, including 13 adult women, 6 minor girls, one minor boy, and 289 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
71 nationals from Guinea-Conakry, 50 from Mali, 65 from Nigeria, 71 from Niger, 5 from Benin,
10 from Burkina Faso, 10 from Cameroon, 16 from Côte d’Ivoire, 3 from The Gambia, 5 from Sudan, 2 from Ghana, and one person from Senegal.
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March 13, 2026:
240 people, including 6 adult women, 4 minor girls, one minor boy, and 229 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
61 nationals from Guinea-Conakry, 67 from Mali, 33 from Nigeria, 2 from Niger, 17 from Benin, 31 from Burkina Faso, 7 from Cameroon, 8 from Côte d’Ivoire, 2 from The Gambia, 2 from Senegal, 3 from the Central African Republic, 3 from Chad, 2 from Togo, one person from Sudan, and one from Liberia.
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March 13, 2026:
437 people, including 23 adult women, 16 minor girls, 15 minor boys, and 383 adult men, were deported in an “official convoy” aboard 9 trucks and a van and transported to Arlit the following day.
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
408 nationals of Niger, 20 of Nigeria, 4 of Mali, 3 of Ghana, one person from Guinea-Conakry, and one from The Gambia.
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March 18, 2026:
139 people, including 6 adult women and 133 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
20 nationals from Guinea-Conakry, 12 from Mali, 16 from Nigeria, 59 from Niger, 3 from Burkina Faso, 6 from Côte d’Ivoire, 9 from Senegal, and 14 from Sudan.
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March 18, 2026:
509 Nigerien nationals, including 57 adult women, 21 minor girls, 25 minor boys, and 406 adult men, were deported in an “official convoy” aboard 8 trucks and a van.
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March 29, 2026:
563 people, including 8 adult women, 5 minor girls, 7 minor boys, and 543 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of those affected:
90 nationals of Guinea-Conakry, 136 from Mali, 145 from Nigeria, 105 from Niger, 18 from Benin, 6 from Burkina Faso, 9 from Cameroon, 26 from Côte d’Ivoire, 5 from The Gambia, 4 from Senegal, 3 from Chad, 7 from Sudan, 2 from Ghana, 5 from Sierra Leone, one person from Togo, and one from Yemen.
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April 6, 2026:
698 people, including 23 adult women, 41 minor girls, 30 minor boys, and 604 adult men, were deported in an “official convoy” aboard 11 trucks and 2 vans.
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
675 nationals of Niger, 14 from Nigeria, 3 from Cameroon, and one person from Togo.
In addition, the Nigerien police returned 5 Sudanese nationals to Algerian territory.
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April 12, 2026:
485 people, including 39 adult women and 477 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of those affected:
60 nationals of Guinea-Conakry, 103 from Mali, 62 from Nigeria, 42 from Niger, 36 from Benin, 5 from Burkina Faso, 38 from Côte d’Ivoire, 6 from Senegal, 16 from Chad, 103 from Sudan, 7 from Ethiopia, and one person from The Gambia.
According to other sources, the Nigerien police returned the Sudanese, Chadian, and Ethiopian nationals to Algerian territory.
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April 14, 2026:
1,403 people, including 20 adult women, 27 minor girls, 15 minor boys, and 1,341 adult men, were deported in an “official convoy.”
Nationalities of those affected:
1,365 nationals of Niger, 37 from Nigeria, and one person from Sudan.
According to other sources, the Nigerien police returned the Sudanese persons to Algerian territory.
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April 28, 2026:
932 people, including 23 adult women, 30 minor girls, 13 minor boys, and 866 adult men, were deported in an “official convoy.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
852 nationals of Niger and 75 of Nigeria.
In addition, the Nigerien police returned 5 Sudanese nationals to Algerian territory.
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April 28, 2026:
179 people deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of those affected:
157 nationals of Niger, 19 from Nigeria, one person from Cameroon, one from Guinea-Conakry, and one from Benin.
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May 2, 2026:
Alarme Phone Sahara team rescuing injured people from "Point Zéro", May 2 2026 © Alarme Phone Sahara
164 people, including one adult woman, one minor, and 162 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
23 nationals of Guinea-Conakry, 19 from Mali, 69 from Nigeria, 22 from Niger, 10 from Benin, 3 from Côte d’Ivoire, 8 from Cameroon, 7 from The Gambia, 2 from Sierra Leone, and one person from Senegal.
According to the APS Assamaka team, the deported persons were dropped off on the evening of Saturday, May 2, and those unable to walk were forced to spend the night at “Point Zero” without food or water. At night, it was too risky for rescue workers to enter the area due to the lack of security. It was on May 3 that the APS team was able to rescue the injured.
Since the clinic was closed that Sunday and no medical staff were available, the injured were housed under the shelter managed by APS members until the following day and received water and biscuit kits distributed by MSF.
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May 4, 2026:
908 people, including 72 adult women, 87 minor girls, 48 minor boys, and 701 adult men, were deported in an “official convoy.”
Nationalities of the people concerned:
840 nationals of Niger, 57 of Nigeria, 9 of Guinea Conakry, and 2 of Benin.
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May 9, 2026:
465 people, including 3 adult women, 2 minor girls, 2 minor boys, and 451 adult men, were deported in a “non-official” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of those affected:
61 nationals from Guinea-Conakry, 102 from Mali, 87 from Nigeria, 60 from Niger, 16 from Benin, 12 from Burkina Faso, 18 from Chad, 59 from Sudan, 6 from The Gambia, 26 from Cameroon, 11 from Sierra Leone, and 7 from Togo.
The Alarme Phone Sahara team reports that they found a man fallen asleep 12 km from “Point Zero.” In addition, they rescued two men, one of whom was a Ghanaian suffering from mental illness, at “Point Zero.” They took the patient, who spoke only English, to the MSF staff at the clinic.
On that day, three people were brought to safety while they were in life-threatening situations, as regularly occurs along the 15 km separating “Point Zero” from Assamaka. This demonstrates, on the one hand, the necessity of having dedicated rescue workers on the ground, but above all the ruthless nature of the mass pushbacks from Algeria.
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May 11, 2026:
1,055 people, including 29 adult women, 42 minor girls, 33 minor boys, and 951 adult men, were deported in an “official convoy.”
Nationalities of the individuals concerned:
927 nationals of Niger, 120 of Nigeria, 2 of Benin, 4 of Mali, one person from Côte d’Ivoire, and one from Guinea Conakry.
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May 17, 2026:
557 people, including 25 adult women, 2 minor boys, and 530 adult men, were deported in an “unofficial” convoy and abandoned at “Point Zero.”
Nationalities of those affected:
102 nationals of Guinea-Conakry, 140 from Mali, 133 from Nigeria, 75 from Niger, 7 from Benin, 12 from Burkina Faso, 23 from Côte d’Ivoire, 18 from Chad, 11 from Sudan, 4 from The Gambia, 19 from Cameroon, 5 from Sierra Leone, 3 from Togo, and 5 from Senegal.
The Nigerien police returned the 11 Sudanese nationals and 18 Chadian nationals to Algerian territory.
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