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Mali summons its ambassador to Algeria to discuss immigrants’ situation

April 20, 2018 at 2:06 am

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned its ambassador and consul-general in Algeria to discuss the situation of Malian immigrants in Algeria.

BBC, Finance Minister, Abdel Rahman Sila, said: “Malian citizens in Algeria are living in unacceptable conditions… This is why the Malian government has called upon its ambassador and consul-general in Algeria to hold discussions.”

The Finance Minister called on citizens who feel insecure to leave Algeria.

In recent years Algeria has been seen an increase in African immigrants through bordering countries from the south, especially Mali. This has been exacerbated by the raging conflicts there. According to media reports, there are about 100 thousand immigrants in Algeria.

Read More: Four held in case of arms smuggling at The Port of Algiers

The topic has also grown more controversial.

In 2014, Algeria started the process of deporting African immigrants from Niger and Mali in coordination with the two countries’ authorities. According to official numbers, the process has deported 30,000 people.

However, Amnesty International has accused Algeria of mishandling the matter. The organisation’s report stated that more than 6,500 legal immigrants from countries such as Niger and Mali have been arrested and deported. The report also confirmed that “These immigrants have been arbitrarily arrested and forcibly deported to their home countries from which they fled, on the basis of racial discrimination.”

Algeria has said that this is “incorrect and false”.

Niger’s foreign minister, Mohamed Bazoum, criticized Algeria for the deportation of illegal immigrants. In a tweet, he said that his country is ready to receive its citizens who are living in Algeria but is not ready to receive immigrants of other nationalities.

There have been demonstrations outside the Algerian embassy in the Malian capital of Bamako. These escalated to riots on March 13. The demonstrators closed the road, broke the light poles, set rubber wheels on fire and burned the garden near the embassy.