Revision History

Forty-nine people returning from Eid al-Adha celebrations in Mali died of dehydration after their lorry broke down in remote northern Niger, roughly 80 kilometers west of Assamaka. The tragedy — the latest mass-casualty event on Saharan overland routes — raises longstanding questions about whether EU-funded anti-smuggling policies pushed travelers onto more dangerous paths and whether Niger's vast desert can ever be adequately patrolled for search and rescue.