34 migrants, including 20 children, found dead in Niger desert

The bodies of 34 migrants, including 20 children, who were abandoned by people smugglers while trying to reach neighbouring Algeria were found in the Niger desert last week, authorities said on Wednesday.

"Thirty-four people, including five men, nine women and 20 children died trying to cross the desert," Niger's interior ministry said in a statement.

"They probably died of thirst, as is often the case, and they were found near Assamaka," a security source told AFP, referring to a border post between Niger and Algeria. "(The migrants) were abandoned by people smugglers," the statement added, and only two of the bodies have so far been identified - a man and a 26-year-old woman both from Niger.

Temperatures in the region can reach a brutal 42C (108F), with blinding sandstorms tearing across the desert. The conditions mean that only a fraction of those who die trying to cross the area are ever found

Thousands of illegal migrants have arrived in Algeria in recent years, mostly from neighbouring Mali and Niger.

Libya used to play host to the majority of migrants in sub-saharan, but since that country descended into chaos following the ousting of Moamer Kadhafi, Algeria has become the main destination for the region's migrants.

Many transit through Algeria headed for Europe, but more than 7,000 migrants from Niger, mostly women and children, were returned to their home country in 2015 as part of an agreement between the two countries' governments.