At least seven Gambian migrants have died and three  seriously injured after their vehicle detonated a landmine in the Niger-Libya border, reports reaching this office indicate.

“On or about 2nd February, a vehicle carrying about thirty (30) illegal migrants hits a landmine and exploded along the Niger-Libya border,’ reads a dispatch issued yesterday by the department of state for Foreign Affairs.

The tragic accident is reported to have occurred in between the border villages of Durku in Niger and Madama in Libya, on the Niger-Libya border, in a very remote and desolate area. According to sources, the statement added, the  were buried at the site of the accident.

The statement also disclosed that two among the injured, Mamadou Drammeh and Bawo Sankareh, both from Dampha Kunda (URR), are presently receiving treatment in a hospital in the Libyan town of Sabha. The third injured, Musa Nyariga, also from Dampha Kunda, who sustained injuries on his legs, managed to return back to Niger to look for medication and help. "Latest reports indicate that Musa is receiving treatment in Dakar, Senegal. Two other Gambians, names unknown, but reported to be from Baddibu (NBR), also survived, but their whereabouts are unknown."

The department of state for Foreign Affairs also seized the opportunity to assure the general public that they are still investigating the case, the whereabouts and conditions of the injured and the missing. Thousands of Africans, comprising some Gambians, are believed to have died in sea or in the desert in their desperate efforts to reach the European citadel. Northern Mali and Niger constitute the Tuareg rebel movements’ stronghold where they have planted thousands of land mines.

Taking the bull by the horn, The Gambia’s Foreign Affairs department urged the youth to resist the temptations of illegal migration in all its forms, especially across the Sahara Desert or across the Atlantic Ocean. "Parents and families are therefore urged to dissuade their children/the youth from embarking on such dangerous adventures as the pastures on the other side may not be as green as expected," the statement concluded.

Below we reproduce the names of the persons who encountered death in their attempt to chase their European dreams:

•Mustapha Fofana from Taibatu village (URR)

•Mbatiti Suso from Dampha Kunda village (URR)

•Saibou Dambelly from Dampha Kunda village (URR)

•Badinding from Dampha Kunda village (URR)

•Musa Sangadou from Sotuma village (URR)

•Karamba (FNU) from Kombo Brikama (WR)

Bakary Lena from Jappineh village (LRR)

(FNU = full name unknown)