advertisements
SANAA, 9 January (IRIN) - The Somali community in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, has warned of more deaths as increasing numbers of Somali migrants make the perilous journey to Yemen to escape the civil war. The warning followed reports that 140 migrants, mostly Somalis, were missing and 17 had died after their vessels capsized off the Yemeni coast last month.
"The situation of the [Somali] refugees going to Yemen will be worse than before as many Somalis try to escape the war in their country and head for Yemen," said Mohammed Ali Hersi, head of the Somali community in Sana'a.
Hersi said the number of migrants would increase in the coming days because of the intense fighting in Somalia and this would lead to a humanitarian crisis. "The current situation of Somali refugees [in Yemen] is not encouraging, and it will be worse if new people arrive," Hersi noted.
On 27 December, four boats carrying 515 Somalis and Ethiopians capsized off the Yemeni coast after crossing the Gulf of Aden, claiming 17 people, while 140 others are unaccounted for.
"The fate of the 140 migrants is unknown, and we are very worried about them," said Hersi, adding that nobody had seen their bodies yet. Hersi added that he had not been able to visit the survivors for lack of resources. "We don't have any cars or other facilities to follow up the situation of the new arrivals," he said.
Two of the smugglers' boats had reportedly offloaded their passengers and were then fired on by Yemeni security forces, the UNHCR said in a statement issued on 28 December, adding that the smugglers returned fire.
According to the UNHCR, the third and fourth boats tried to escape back to sea. One capsized near al-Ghaida and Yemeni authorities said several people were trapped under the boat. Two Yemeni coastguard boats and a helicopter pursued the other boat, which capsized in heavy seas 300 metres from the beach.
The 357 passengers who survived the incident were taken to the UNHCR's Mayfa'a reception centre and given food and medical assistance.
Survivors said they came from the troubled areas of Bur-Hakaba, Baidoa and Beletweyne in central Somalia. Many had fled the conflict between the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government and the Union of Islamic Courts.
"I am deeply saddened by this latest tragedy involving smugglers' boats carrying desperate people across the Gulf of Aden," the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), António Guterres, said. "Despite efforts to halt this horrible trade, brutal smugglers continue to prey on the desperation of poor people fleeing persecution and violence and those looking for better economic opportunities elsewhere. We urgently need a concerted international effort aimed at addressing root causes, educating would-be migrants and cracking down on the smugglers and traffickers based in Somalia."
Yemeni authorities were unwilling to comment.
There are 84,000 Somali refugees registered in Yemen. Of these 23,000 arrived in the country in 2006; more than 360 died entering the country, and 300 are missing at sea.
maj/ar/mw
Source: IRIN, Jan 09, 2007