A Nigerian agency fighting people trafficking says its fact-finding team has found at least 20,000 girls stranded in Mali. She said some of the girls had been tricked by traffickers who told them they were being taken to Malaysia for work. She described the girls’ living conditions as “slave-like”, adding that some of the girls were sold and were forced to service, mainly miners. There are over one million Nigerian residents in Mali, out of which about 20,000 are trapped into forced prostitution. Trafficking increases by at least 500 girls daily in West Africa according to NAPTIP figures.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 22, 2019 13:00 UTC