The anti-Western coup d’état in Niger last year is likely to drive further illegal immigration to Europe, the European Commission has warned.
Ylva Johansson, the Home Affairs Commissioner on the European Union’s unelected executive, has confirmed the coup “could, of course, lead to a lot of new migrants coming in a very difficult and dangerous situation.”
Niger is one of several African countries in the Sahel region, running from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, where Russia-friendly military juntas have supplanted Western-leaning regimes. It has already revoked legislation aimed at slowing the flow of migrants towards Europe.
Agadez, a desert outpost from which outward migration was previously banned, has already filled with “caravans of pickup trucks” ready to transport migrants from West and Central Africa through the Sahara and into neighboring Libya.
From there, many will make the journey from the North African coast to Europe, often assisted by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating “rescue” ships that loiter in the area, waiting to collect migrants from smaller craft.
