Yemen (TDI): According to the United Nations Migration Agency, 68 African refugees and migrants have died after a boat capsized off the coast of Yemen due to bad weather, leaving 74 others on board missing.
On Sunday, Abdusattor Esoev, who is the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Yemen, said that the boat carrying 154 Ethiopians capsized off Yemen’s province of Abyan.
Esoev told the media that only twelve people survived, whereas 54 refugees and migrants’ bodies were washed off the shore in the district of Khanfar, and fourteen more people were found dead at another location.
He also emphasized the need to strengthen the legal safeguards for migrants so they are not exploited by smugglers.
“What we are advocating for all member states… is to enhance their regular pathways so people can take legal ways to migrate, instead of being trapped or deceived by smugglers and taking those dangerous journeys”, he added.
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The health authorities of Yemen have confirmed the death of 54 people. Director of the health office in Zanzibar, Abdul Qader Bajamil, said that the Yemeni authorities are making arrangements to bury the victims in the city of Shaqra.
Authorities informed that search operations are undergoing to find the missing people. According to the IOM, some of those fleeing conflict in Africa, particularly in Somalia and Ethiopia, have sought refuge in Yemen or have sought to travel through the country to the more prosperous Gulf countries.
The route remains one of the “busiest and most perilous” migration routes in the world. In 2024, IOM recorded 60,000refugees and migrants arriving in Yemen, which marked a significant drop from the previous year’s total of 97,200. The decreased number is due to the increased patrols in the waters.
IOM released a statement that it’s a deadly route that has killed hundreds of people over the past two years, and just in the last year, it killed 558 people. Yemen is considered to be the major pathway for migrants from the Horn of Africa travelling to the Gulf States for work
An IR student whose interest lies in diplomacy and current affairs and a part time debater
