Thu Jan 23 14:20:00 UTC 2025: ## Libya Deports Hundreds to Niger in EU-Funded Crackdown on Migration
**Agadez, Niger –** Over 600 sub-Saharan African migrants, mostly from Niger, were deported from Libya last month in a mass expulsion highlighting the increasingly harsh tactics employed by North African countries in their EU-funded efforts to stem migration to Europe. The 613 men, who had hoped to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, arrived in Niger’s border town on January 3rd, exhausted, hungry, and injured after months of detention in Libyan prisons. Two men died shortly after their arrival.
One deportee, 18-year-old Salmana Issoufou, described brutal treatment at the hands of Libyan guards, including beatings with wires and weapons. His account reflects the harsh conditions many migrants face as North African nations, backed by significant European Union funding, intensify their efforts to block migration routes.
The mass deportation is part of a wider trend. The EU has signed agreements with several North African countries, including Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Mauritania, providing financial assistance in exchange for stricter border controls. This strategy appears to be yielding results, with a reported sharp decline in illegal border crossings into the EU in 2024, according to Frontex data.
However, the deportations raise serious human rights concerns, given the reported abuses suffered by the migrants. The incident underscores the ethical dilemmas inherent in the EU’s approach to migration, balancing border security with the welfare of vulnerable migrants.
First Piper 