Niger and Algeria draw battle lines over illegal migrants

Niger accuses Algeria of mistreating EU-bound Nigeriens by dumping them back in the desert. Algeria accuses Niger of opening the floodgates. Neither is backing down.

AFP

An Algerian official carries a child in a transit camp as Nigerien migrants in Algeria are repatriated by Algerian authorities back to Niger on June 29, 2018, in Laghouat, northern Algeria.

Niger and Algeria draw battle lines over illegal migrants

Rabia Khreis

last update on 30 Apr 2024

Relations between Algeria and its southern neighbour Niger were quite good before the Nigerien military coup in July 2023. Ever since, they have soured.

Earlier this month, they deteriorated further into a very public slanging match, with angry statements issued.

On 3 April, the military junta in Niger’s capital Niamey blasted Algeria’s continued practice of transporting and unloading thousands of undocumented migrants out of Algeria and into the desert, just inside Niger’s borders.

“Niger denounces large-scale police raids recently targeting Sub-Saharan Africans, including many Nigeriens, residing in Tamanrasset (Southern Algeria), disregarding their physical integrity and security of their property,” it said.

AFP — Nigerien migrants in Algeria wait next to buses as they are repatriated by Algerian authorities back to Niger on June 29, 2018, in Laghouat, northern Algeria.

Migration and returns

The figures show that returns are increasing. In the first three months of 2023, for instance, Algeria returned more than 7,000 undocumented migrants, mostly to Assamaka, a village near the border.

In the first three months of 2024, however, there were more than 17,000 Algerian deportations. There were 26,000 returns in all of 2023. At the current rate, this number is set to be eclipsed.

Niger has a population of around 25 million. According to the World Bank, rising inflation in the past two years means that 14.1 million of them now live “in extreme poverty”, with 17% of the population now needing humanitarian assistance.

Given the situation, many head north, crossing the 620-mile desert border between Niger and Algeria. Their aim is to reach the Mediterranean Sea coast and then take a boat to Europe.

Tens of thousands of Nigeriens cross into Algeria every year. This presents a major security concern for Algiers.

Many Algerians still recall with horror their 'Black Decade' (1991-99) when the state battled a jihadist insurgency. Militias and massacres became a daily reality for years. As the country tipped into civil war, an estimated 150,000 were killed. Guarding against any repeat is a top priority.

Tens of thousands of Nigeriens cross into Algeria every year. This presents a major security concern for Algiers.

Against the coup

Algeria's government was already at loggerheads with the coup leaders in Niamey and now suspects that they are encouraging people over the border.

On 25 November 2023, Niger's General Abdourahamane Tiani repealed a 2015 law that criminalised the smuggling of migrants.

He simultaneously released from prison all those who had been penalised under this legislation, which was introduced at the behest of the European Union.

What had been a simmering tension between the neighbours for six months has become a major public spat, with accusations and criticisms being levelled.

Niger summoned Algeria's ambassador to protest the deportations. Just two days later, Algeria responded in kind.

Niger is not the only country in the Sahel to have had its government deposed in a recent military coup. Burkina Faso and Mali are in a similar position. Analysts have said these new juntas jettison Washington and Paris in favour of Moscow, Beijing, and perhaps even Tehran.

AFP — Protesters wave Nigerien and Russian flags as they gather during a rally in support of Niger's junta in Niamey on July 30, 2023.

Algeria's motivations

Abdul Raouf Kachout, a politics lecturer at the University of Jijel in Algeria, pointed out that Algiers had been returning migrants from the Sahel for years.

"Algerian authorities used the same procedures previously for migrant transportation, but the Niamey authorities did not object. Repatriating undocumented migrants is also a sovereign action governed by UN regulations," he said.

He added that Algeria has "its own reasons and motivations" for doing so and that "illegal migration is now significantly affecting the stability and internal peace of Algerians because the country is witnessing unprecedented flows of undocumented migrants."

A former official in the migration department of Algeria's Ministry of the Interior, Hassan Qasmi, took to state radio recently to decry Niger's "scheme to inundate southern Algeria with migrants".

In language that will inflame tensions, he described it as a "cunning plan… being prepared in dark rooms by circles and countries hostile to Algeria".

Algeria's leaders know they will have to learn to live with the new junta in Niger, but learning to live with migrants may prove more difficult.

The purpose, said Qasmi, was "to change the demographics of border cities in the south and referred to "efforts by foreign entities to relocate 8 million migrants".

He suggested that this was all tied to the lucrative smuggling business, which is worth around $1bn annually.

He and others think there may be business ties between the junta and the smugglers, pointing to the November 2023 decision to rescind Niger's anti-smuggling law, although these accusations remain unverified.

New strategy needed

For Algerians, there now seems a need to increase the number of monitoring centres and checkpoints along its borders with Niger and Mali and to enhance cooperation and coordination between the army, police, and border guards.

In Algiers, diplomats and foreign policy analysts have been revising their Sahel plans in recent months. It does not want to accept the military junta in Niger, nor does it want to go to war to reinstate Niger's deposed democratic leadership.

AFP — A supporter of Niger's National Council of Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP) holds a placard of Niger's new military ruler, General Abdourahamane Tiani, as they gather at Place de la Concertation in Niamey on August 20, 2023.

In recent years, Algeria had sought stronger ties with Niger with a view to building a Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline through it, from Nigeria to Algeria's Mediterranean coast.

Relations also remain strained with Algeria's westerly neighbour, Morocco. The pair, who went to war over territory in 1963, have limited diplomatic contact these days.

Over the years, Morocco has blamed Algeria for Islamist attacks, while Algeria has blamed Morocco for an influx of drugs.

They have also sparred over the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Morocco claims this, but Algeria supports representatives of indigenous groups, who also claim it.

The fallout with Niger is unfortunate, but Algeria's leaders know they will have to learn to live with the junta. Learning to live with the migrants may prove more difficult.

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