20 children found dead in desolate Niger desert after being abandoned by people smugglers

The bodies of 34 migrants, including 20 children, who were abandoned by people smugglers while trying to reach neighbouring Algeria were found in the Niger desert last week, authorities said Wednesday.

“Thirty-four people, including five men, nine women and 20 children died trying to cross the desert,” Niger’s interior ministry said in a statement.

“They probably died of thirst, as is often the case, and they were found near Assamaka,” a security source said, referring to a border post between Niger and Algeria.

“[The migrants] were abandoned by people smugglers,” the statement added, and only two of the bodies have so far been identified - a man and a 26-year-old woman both from Niger.

Temperatures in the desolate region can reach a brutal 42 degrees Celsius, with blinding sandstorms tearing across the desert.

The hostile conditions mean that only a fraction of those who die trying to cross the area are ever found.