Skip to main content
More migrants and refugees in Africa are heading northwards through deadly Sahara routes
Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR special envoy for the Western & Central Mediterranean Situation, speaks about the launch of new UNHCR / IOM /MMC report on risks faced by refugees and migrants on the Central Mediterranean route during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, July 4, 2024 [Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP]

MORE migrants and refugees are heading northward through Africa towards the Mediterranean Sea and Europe, crossing perilous routes in the Sahara desert, the United Nations and partners said today.

A report by the UN refugee and migration agencies and the Mixed Migration Centre accused criminal gangs of subjecting migrants to enslavement, organ removal, rape and kidnapping, among other abuses.

Land routes in Africa are twice as deadly as the sea lanes across the Mediterranean, which is the world’s deadliest maritime route for migrants, the report estimates.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
COMPASSION NEEDED: Demonstrators hold signs during a rally against federal immigration enforcement at Federal Courthouse Plaza, Minneapolis, on Tuesday January 27
Features / 29 January 2026
29 January 2026

A society that grows accustomed to ‘undesirable’ people also grows accustomed to undesirable deaths. Minneapolis serves as a wake-up call, including for our own refugee policies, writes MARC VANDEPITTE

Nigeria police, Anti-Bomb squad, secure the scene of a U.S. airstrike in Northwest, Jabo, Nigeria, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025
Imperialism / 30 December 2025
30 December 2025

A US air strike in north-west Nigeria, publicly framed as a Christmas act of counterterrorism, reveals a deeper shift in how power is exercised in Africa, argues RAIS NEZA BONEZA

Rescuers from the Ocean Viking approach a deflating rubber b
Borders / 13 August 2025
13 August 2025