[1] The Sahel is a belt of grassland and savanna, with areas of woods and shrubs, that runs along the southern rim of the Sahara desert.

Farming in most areas depends on the rain that falls during a three-month period of the summer, although irrigation is practiced along the banks of rivers and lakes.

[2] The Lazaret camp was mostly occupied by Tuareg nomads who had moved south from Mali, and held up to 20,000 people.

[6] Lazaret was one of the most extended of the Sahelian camps, situated 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of Niamey, the capital of Niger, on the road to Ouallam.

The local authorities largely delegated management of the camps to charitable organizations, the Catholic Mission in the case of Lazaret.

This organization relied on people among the refugees who were recognized as chiefs to handle distribution of supplies and to maintain a degree of order.

[11] In October 1974 the camp was moved to a new location, Lazaret II, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Niamey in order to limit contact between the refugees and the capital.

[7] The new camp remained full, with the families grouped by place of origin: Gao, Bourem, Timbuktu or Kidal.