MORE migrants and refugees are heading northward through Africa towards the Mediterranean Sea and Europe, crossing perilous routes in the Sahara desert, the United Nations and partners said today.

A report by the UN refugee and migration agencies and the Mixed Migration Centre accused criminal gangs of subjecting migrants to enslavement, organ removal, rape and kidnapping, among other abuses.

Land routes in Africa are twice as deadly as the sea lanes across the Mediterranean, which is the world’s deadliest maritime route for migrants, the report estimates.