Niger's migrant smuggling hub empties after EU crackdown

By Omar Saley AGADEZ, Niger (Reuters) - In a dirt-floored room in the town of Agadez in Niger, a pair of flip-flops and a cold pile of ashes are all that remain of what was once a teeming stopover for migrants preparing the fraught journey across the Saharan Desert and onwards to Europe. Less than a year ago, Agadez was a boomtown - a hub for smuggling networks that profited off migrants seeking a better life and opportunities in Europe. "We have seen the numbers fall dramatically since August,"