AGADEZ, Niger — Once, caravans brought gold and salt to this small mud-brick desert town. Today, it has become a major trading post for arms, drugs and, above all, humans. After the fall of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, long-locked smuggling routes between Niger and Libya suddenly reopened, and the small desert town of roughly 120,000 inhabitants became the de facto smuggling capital of the sub-Saharan region.
Once a week, on Mondays, an exodus takes place. Hundreds of trucks and pickups head toward the horizon. They follow the weekly military convoy, traveling in columns for safety. The risk of breaking …read more
Source: European Voice
