2024-04-09 13:55:00
The Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday April 6 that it had summoned the Niger ambassador to Algiers regarding the “repatriation of Nigerien nationals staying irregularly” in Algeria, following Niamey summoned the Algerian ambassador to Niger. The crisis of confidence between the two countries is entering a new phase of escalation.
Indeed, last Wednesday, the government of the Nigerien military regime summoned the Algerian ambassador to “protest” once morest “the violent nature” of the repatriation operations and refoulement of thousands of West African migrants by Algeria to the Niger. Since 2014, tens of thousands of them have been expelled from Algeria, a transit point to Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with some NGOs also citing pushbacks at the border.
The response from the shepherd to the shepherdess was not long in coming. In a most unexpected twist, Niger decided not to just summon the Algerian ambassador, but took things a step further by filing an official complaint with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). concerning the repatriation of irregular migrants from Algeria to “Niamey”. Cooperation in matters of “repatriation” of Nigerien nationals “has been the subject of certain judgments on the part of the Nigerien authorities which the Algerian side considers unfounded,” the ministry said in a press release on Saturday.
In Algiers, the Nigerien ambassador was reminded of “the existence of a bilateral framework dedicated to this problem”, added the same source, specifying that it “was reiterated” to the Nigerien ambassador “shut up Algeria’s attachment to the essential rules of good neighborliness and its desire to continue coordination with Niger.
NGOs, including the organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), have repeatedly denounced “the inhumane treatment” inflicted on migrants of West African origin seeking to reach Europe, including around 2,000 per month in average are pushed back from Algeria and Libya to neighboring Niger. Algiers has often denied these accusations, denouncing “malicious” campaigns.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Niger, the representative of the International Organization for Migration was informed of the situation, considered not only as an additional burden for the Nigerien authorities in terms of security and humanitarian matters, but also as a violation of the dignity of the migrants themselves.
These steps, as dramatic as they are, are only part of the history of transcontinental relations between the two countries, where it seems that “the migration to Niamey or “Miami for short”, for the ironic side of the thing , added a touch of humor to the international scene. When summoning the Algerian ambassador to Niamey, Mehdi Boukheda, the Nigerien Ministry of Foreign Affairs described these operations as being carried out in conditions of “non-compliance with the rules” and “undermining the dignity and security of Nigerien citizens and their property.
The Algerian ambassador was given a message to the authorities of his country, expressing concerns regarding the way in which the Algerian security services treat migrants, and stressing the need for the planned repatriation operations of citizens and irregular migrants by the Algerian authorities be carried out with respect and taking into account the friendly relations between the two peoples, at least if there is affinity on the Niger side.
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