Bodies of 27 migrants found in Chadian desert

The bodies of 27 migrants believed to have died of thirst have been found in the Chadian desert, the U.N. migration agency said on Tuesday.

The migrants reportedly left Moussoro, a crossroads town in central Chad, 17 months ago on a pick-up truck, said the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“It is believed the truck got lost in the deep desert, broke down due to mechanical issues and the migrants subsequently died of thirst,” it said. Four of the 27 people were children.

Chad is a landlocked country in central Africa which borders Libya to the north, and is traversed by African migrants trying to reach the Mediterranean. A huge part of the country is the sparsely populated Sahara.

IOM has documented the deaths and disappearances of more than 5,600 people transiting through the Sahara since 2014, with 149 deaths recorded so far in 2022, it said.

Since 2014, 110 migrant deaths have been recorded in Chad, although the numbers are likely higher since many deaths go unrecorded, the agency added.