ALGIERS: Nine illegal migrants from Niger were killed in a traffic accident in Algeria yesterday when their bus and a truck collided as they were being repatriated, the APS news agency reported.
The accident in Ghardaia, 600 kilometres south of Algiers, claimed two more lives — the bus driver and a companion — and injured 16.
Last week, Algeria began repatriating thousands of illegal workers to Niger in an operation likely to last several months.
Niger Prime Minister Brigi Rafini urged Algiers last month to return people from his country “who number 3,000, are jobless, and unfortunately live by begging”.
AFP
