If not, I’ll leave for Europe,” said Abdoulaye Diallo, a 40-year-old from Guinea, speaking at a nearby migrant compound in late April. Niger’s military leaders in November scrapped a European Union-backed law that criminalised people who aided migrants. Over 128,790 migrants were observed leaving Niger in March, 68% more than in March 2023, according to Reuters calculations based on the most recent data from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a UN agency. The UN agency is not expecting migrant flows on this route from North Africa to rise dramatically in the coming months, he said. The EU said last year it was investing 800 million euros across North Africa until 2024 to tackle the problem.
