12 Syrian migrants among the 14 found dead in the Algerian desert

Fourteen people, including 12 Syrian migrants, were found dead in Algeria’s southern desert province of Illizi, while five others remain missing, an official at the Syrian embassy in Algeria said. AFP On Monday.

The search for the other five is still ongoing, said Bassem Farroukh, head of the irregular migration department at the Syrian embassy in Algeria.

“The victims arrived from Libya on Tuesday,” he added. “They were found dead on Saturday after getting lost in the desert.”

The migrants were found by the Search and Rescue Association, an NGO specialising in rescuing people lost in the Algerian desert.

The association said it had identified two Algerians and 12 Syrians among the dead, including a 10-year-old and a 16-year-old.

Farroukh blamed the Libyan authorities, who he said expelled the migrants and “forced them to flee to Algeria.”

“We will see other Syrians leaving Libya for Algeria in the same way and I fear we must prepare for further disasters,” he said.

In 2016, 22 Syrians from neighboring Niger became lost in the Algerian desert before being rescued by the Algerian army.

Many Syrians and illegal migrants from other countries come to North Africa in the hope of making the dangerous crossing across the Mediterranean to Western Europe.

Syria remains the world’s largest refugee crisis: According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, 13.8 million people are on the run inside and outside the country.

The country has been ravaged by war since 2011, when there were fierce clashes between President Bashar al-Assad’s troops and the brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters during the Arab Spring uprisings.

The war claimed the lives of more than half a million people and forced millions to flee their homes, while Syria’s economy and infrastructure suffered severe damage.