French Newspaper: Algeria Accused of Brutal and Degrading Deportations of Migrants… While the World Just Watches
By: Iman Alaoui / ALDAR
Algerian authorities continue to carry out forced deportations against undocumented migrants, especially those from sub-Saharan Africa, using methods described as “brutal and degrading,” amid an official and media silence that reveals another face of the state.
In a shocking report published by the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, testimonies and video footage documented migrants being chased, beaten, and forced to walk through the barren desert under extremely harsh conditions—without water or food—after being rounded up and detained in inhumane conditions before being expelled beyond the borders.
What makes the situation even more alarming is that these operations are reportedly carried out under military supervision, according to former Algerian journalist Daoud Imolain, who described the situation by saying: “Everything related to the army in Algeria is taboo, and official media do not dare to approach this subject.” This reality makes it difficult to hold those responsible accountable or even initiate a serious internal debate about the abuses.
Despite the horrifying videos circulating on social media, revealing scenes akin to mass chases, the Algerian state media remains entirely silent—raising questions about the complicity of state institutions in obscuring the truth and controlling the narrative.
International human rights organizations have previously called on Algeria to immediately halt these practices and abide by international conventions that prohibit arbitrary expulsion and degrading treatment of any individual, regardless of their legal status. However, Algerian authorities appear to persist in ignoring such appeals, relying on what has been dubbed a “desert solution”—pushing migrants toward an unknown fate in the heart of a harsh wilderness, as if ridding themselves of a “troublesome human burden.”
What is happening in Algeria today cannot be separated from a broader phenomenon of institutional racism and lack of transparency, where the migrant is seen as a security threat rather than a human being deserving of protection and dignity.
The continuation of such policies, in the total absence of accountability—whether domestically or from the international community—signals a dangerous rise in inhumane practices that are turning the desert into a silent graveyard for those who fled poverty and war, only to meet violence and denial.
