The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has indicated that 27 migrants, including four children, have died of thirst in the Chadian desert.
The IOM, which said it was «deeply shocked and saddened,» said the migrants left in a van from the Chadian town of Moussoro 17 months ago.
«It is believed that the truck was lost deep in the desert, broke down due to mechanical problems, and the migrants subsequently died of thirst,» the IOM said in a statement.
The head of the IOM Chad mission, Anne Kathrin Schaefer, has pointed out that «stronger collective action is needed to prevent further deaths.»
«We are deeply saddened by this most recent tragedy and express our sincere condolences to the families of the migrants,» Schaefer said.
«Without access to reliable information and safe migration routes, migrants will continue to take risky paths through the deep and dangerous desert, with tragic consequences,» said the IOM mission chief.
IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has documented the deaths and disappearances of more than 5,600 people transiting the Sahara Desert since 2014, with 149 deaths reported so far this year.
