Every week, hundreds of migrants turned away from Algeria end up in Assamaka, the first village on the border with Niger. There are now more than 4,500 people trapped between the Sahara and Sahel deserts. The transit centre run by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is overwhelmed by the influx and is only taking in about a third of the 'returned'. "When we arrived here, we were told that we are not recognised as IOM migrants and therefore we have to pay for our transport back home," says Abdoul Karim Bambara, an Ivorian. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES ARRANGED IN SEQUENCES N°33CN8Y3