Assamakka is a small desert town in northern

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesAlgeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. It is the only official crossing point between the two nations. Assamakka shares the border with the larger town of In Guezzam 10 km on the Algerian side. A main road extends north in Algeria to Tamanrasset, 400 km away. Assamakka is connected to the town of Arlit, 200 km to the south by a road which remains in largely a sand "

Piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

". From Arlit, the "Uranium Highway", a tarred road built in the 1970s for mining trucks, travels south to Agadez and Niamey.

Border regulation

While the military on either side of the border have frequently closed this border post to traffic due to Tuareg insurgencies of the 1990s and 2000s, the border area in this region has no effective controls or even marking.

Geography

The area around Assamakka is flat and absolutely desert: the rocky plains of the Toussasset region begin just to the east, and are punctuated by

Ergs The erg is a unit of energy equal to 10−7joules (100 nJ). It originated in the Centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS). It has the symbol ''erg''. The erg is not an SI unit. Its name is derived from (), a Greek word meaning 'work' o ...

, or "dune seas". To the south the

Azawagh The Azawagh (alias ''Azaouagh'' or ''Azawak'') is a dry basin covering what is today the northwestern Niger, as well as parts of northeastern Mali and southern Algeria. The Azawagh is mainly made up of Sahelian and Saharan flatlands and ha ...

region is characterised by dry plains and ancient dry river valleys arcing to the southwest from the Aïr Mountains. Assamakka has a hot desert climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''BWh'') with extreme heat and a great lack of rainfall. From late April to late October, the mercury rises almost every day above 40 °C in the shade; in June, the average high temperature even exceeds 45 °C in the shade. All year long, days are very hot and sunny. The cloud cover and precipitation are absent except during the short irregular "rainy" season in July and August, then the weather clears up again.

Population

The town itself has long been a Tuareg encampment at a strategic desert well. What small population which is found here are nomadic or semi nomadic

Tuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

, many of whom engage in cross border trade with Tuareg communities to the north and south, or pass through this area around the brief rainy season of the

plains to the far southwest. The area is dominated by Tuareg tribal populations, as well as

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ic minorities, including Hassaniyya-speaking

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

(also called Azawagh Arabs, not to be confused with Niger's

Diffa Arabs Diffa Arabs ( ar, عرب الديفا) (also known as Mahamid Arabs) is the Nigerien name given to Arabicized nomadic tribespeople living in eastern Niger, mostly in the Diffa Region. In 2006, approximately 150,000 and accounting for less than 1.5% ...

) in the northwest border regions of Niger. The Azawagh area is the centre for the

Iwellemeden The Iwellemmedan (''Iwəlləmədǎn''), also spelled Iullemmeden, Aulliminden, Ouilliminden, Lullemmeden, and Iwellemmeden, are one of the seven major Tuareg people, Tuareg tribal or clan confederations (called "''Drum groups''"). Their communit ...

Kel Denneg The Iwellemmedan (''Iwəlləmədǎn''), also spelled Iullemmeden, Aulliminden, Ouilliminden, Lullemmeden, and Iwellemmeden, are one of the seven major Tuareg tribal or clan confederations (called "''Drum groups''"). Their communities are histori ...

federation. The town itself has grown as a transit point for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

. Trucks from the south drop off migrants here, who must then arrange trips over the border. Consequently, the small population is ethnically diverse and fluctuates. Illegal migrants deported south from Algeria are also returned here, sometimes in large numbers.Franklin Graham
Clandestine, Controls and Crossing the Sahara: Pastoral Food Security in the Sahara/Sahel
National Science Foundation DDRI grant no. 0622892 on Food Security (2007) Accessed 27 March 2009

Tuareg insurgency

Several disputed killings of rebels and civilians are alleged to have taken place in the Assamakka area during the 2007 Tuareg Insurgency against the Nigerien government.Niger says bandits slain, rebels say civilians shot
Abdoulaye Massalatchi, Reuters. 2 October 2007

References

{{Reflist, 33em

Falling Rain Genomics, Inc. 1996–2004. Accessed 2009-03-27. Populated places in Niger Algeria–Niger border crossings