Niger arrests 150 migrants in crackdown after Sahara deaths

[YahooNews]

Niger arrested about 150 people trying to cross its border into Algeria on Friday in a crackdown on networks ferrying migrants across the Sahara following the death of 92 people in a failed desert crossing last month. The migrants, including 18 Nigerians, were arrested while travelling in a convoy of five vehicles, rescue worker Almoustapha Alhacena and a security official, who asked not to be identified, said on Saturday. "The migrants were mostly men with a few children. They were arrested in the desert and are being held in Arlit, the town from where they illegally left for Algeria," the security official said.