Land routes across Africa are among the most deadly for migrants, a new report from the UN has revealed. Much of the violence people face is at the hands of state and local officials. Thousands of migrants have died from "extreme" abuse experienced while crossing Africa. A report estimates that 72 people a month perish traversing the continent's land routes.
The report titled "On this journey, no one cares if you live or die" from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Danish Refugee Council's Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) presents the "unspeakable brutality and inhumanity" migrants crossing through African countries face at the hands of smugglers, traffickers, militias, and some state actors.
At least 1,750 people died making journeys across Africa in 2018 and 2019, the report said, an average of more than two deaths a day. The real figure is likely much higher, the authors wrote. Crossing Africa by land is "one of the most deadly routes for refugees and migrants in the world," the report concluded. Nearly a third of people who died had attempted to cross the Sahara desert, while others died in war-torn Libya or while crossing through conflicts in the Central African Republic or Mali. The report found that border guards, police, and soldiers were responsible for nearly half of all cases of physical violence against migrants.
The report documents "killings and widespread violence of the most brutal nature, perpetrated against desperate people fleeing war, violence, and persecution," UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said.
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