Death chases Syrians | “Human dealers” in Libya and Algeria trade in Syria people’s sufferings

With the beginning of refugee movement from Syria to Arab and European countries in early 2011, many Syrian families headed to Algeria. For over 11 years those refugees decided to leave to Europe, searching for a better job opportunities, so that they can enjoy decent standards of living and improve their living conditions. Accordingly, smuggling operations emerged in the African country, while the names of some smugglers, who have become for famous for helping migrants to sneak into Europe for large sums of money, have frequented recently, despite the risky trips from Algeria to Europe.

 

Local sources in Algeria have informed SOHR the identities of many individuals involved in smuggling Syrian people by sea and by land, exploiting their desire to reach Europe. According to those sources, the most prominent smuggler is a man from Ain Al-Arab (Kobani) and the gang which he leads in Oran and Ain Turk areas comprises nearly 200 members. The man, who has strong ties with some officers working for the Algerian security service, takes 7,500 up to 10,000 USD from every migrant in return for helping them to reach Europe.

 

Another prominent smuggler is a man from Manbij city in Aleppo countryside, and he works with nearly 150 others, according to the local sources. Recently, the man has sent 15 migrants in a boat to Europe. The man is implicated in looting large sums of money from several people living in Algeria.

 

The sources has also talked about a man from Damascus city, leading a gang of over 400 members from Syria in the Algerian city of Mostaganem, although he lives in Spain.

 

Speaking to SOHR a man in Algeria says, “nearly 1,000 Syrian refugee, mostly Kurds, live in Algiers and Mostaganem cities. Nearly seven smugglers are working in those to cities and ask for large sums of money in return for helping refugees to sneak out of Algeria. The boat, which sank a few days ago near the Algerian coast, carried migrants, and it was driven by two Syrian persons who had learned to drive boats, but they did not become experts. Accordingly, the boat sank and nearly 15 people drowned, while only one man survived.”

 

The most prominent reasons behind the migration of Syrians from Algeria is manifested in the failure to respect human rights, where Algerian authorities arrest Syrian refugees and deport them to Nigar.

 

The tragic situation in Libya could not be more different, as sources have confirmed that smugglers send hundreds of boats carrying Syrian refugees to Europe in return for taking relatively lower prices which reach 4,500 USD a person. After the set off of boats, smugglers do not care less about the safety of the migrants in those boats, and they do not even care if they reach their destination or not.

 

The reasons pushing Syrians to migrant from Libya and Algeria are not contradictory, as security authorities of the Libyan “Government of National Accord” also deport Syrian refugees in Libyan territory.

 

Yesterday, SOHR sources reported that four Syrian refugees from Ain Al-Arab area (Kobani) in the east of Aleppo drowned, after the boat which carried 14 migrants, including seven Syrians, having sunk off Algeria, while it was heading to Europe. According to SOHR sources, only a few migrants could survive, as some managed to swim to the shore and others were recovered by rescue teams.