Boat transported mainly people who tried to enter illegally in the Yemeni territory
At least 76 migrants died and dozens were considered missing after the wreck of a vessel that mainly carried Ethiopian migrants on the coast of the, informed Yemeni authorities to AFP on Monday (4). Two sources of Yemen security reported that 76 bodies were recovered and 32 rescued people from the wreck, which took place in the Gulf of Aden. The International Organization for Migration (IM) reported that 157 people were on board.
Sunday wreck is one of the “deadliest this year on the Iêmen coast,” said Abdusattor Esoev, head of the Mission of this UN agency in the country. Number two, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, indicated in a statement that he was “deeply sad about this devastating loss of lives.”
The boat was mainly carried Ethiopian migrants who “tried to enter the Yemeni territory illegally,” according to Abyan’s government security management. Some of the rescued people were taken to Aden near Abyan, according to one of the sources of security.
Despite the conflict that affects Yemen since 2014, irregular migration to the country has not ceased, especially of people from Ethiopia. Migrants cross the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, which separates Djibuti from Yemen, an important route to international trade, but also for migrations and human trafficking.
Gulf oil monarchies, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, house an important foreign labor from the Indian subcontinent and Africa.
OIM recorded at least 558 deaths on the route last year, 462 of them in boat accidents. “This route, one of the most dangerous in the world, is mainly controlled by drug traffickers and trafficking networks … Refugees and migrants have no choice but to resort to their services,” AFP told Ayla Bonfiglio, regional director of the Mixed Migration Center Research and Defense Organization. “Migrants are fully aware of the risks, but … Many consider they have no other option,” he added.
Last month, at least eight people died after traffickers forced migrants to leave a vessel in the Red Sea, according to the UN migration agency.
*With information from Estadão Content
Posted by Nátaly Tenório
