Latest news with #GulfOfAden
Asharq Al-Awsat
09-08-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Yemeni Forces Raid Migrant Smuggling Sites
Dozens of African migrants escaped death off Yemen's southern coast when their boat broke down at sea, as government forces raided smuggling sites in Abyan province a day after another shipwreck killed 92 people. Government sources said Yemeni fishermen rescued 250 migrants from the Horn of Africa, nearly half of them women and most of them Ethiopian, after their vessel was stranded for several days in the Gulf of Aden without food or water. Seven people died before the survivors reached Shabwa province, east of Aden. Authorities provided first aid to the migrants on arrival in Rudum district, which has become a key landing point after tighter patrols along the western Lahj coast, said the sources. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the group endured a week-long voyage from Somalia after their boat's engine failed 100 nautical miles from shore. The trip, meant to last 24 hours, stretched to seven days, relying on wind and paddling. 'These people went through a week of hell at sea, facing exploitation, fear and trauma,' said Abdusattor Esoev, IOM's head of mission in Yemen. He urged greater humanitarian action to save lives, step up search and rescue, tackle the drivers of irregular migration and protect vulnerable travelers. The rescue came as Abyan's security forces said they raided several coastal sites used by smugglers to shelter incoming migrants, following last week's disaster off the province's coast in which 92 people drowned and 23 were saved from a boat carrying about 200 passengers. The rest remain missing. The operation targeted areas in Shaqra port, including Tamhan, al-Kasara and al-Hajla, as well as a site on Ahwar's coast, under the supervision of provincial police chief Ali Nasser Bouzeid. He called for regional and international coordination to curb what he described as a security and humanitarian threat. Bouzeid warned against aiding smugglers, saying several armed men had already been arrested for protecting migrant compounds. In the Lawdar district, security forces said they detained a 'dangerous gang' involved in smuggling African migrants after a firefight in which the suspects threw grenades at police before being captured. Three vehicles were seized, and the detainees will face legal action, the statement added. The IOM said the latest shipwreck highlights the urgent need to address the dangers along the eastern migration route linking the Horn of Africa to Yemen. It called for prioritizing life-saving aid, expanding safe migration channels and improving coordinated search and rescue. The agency praised Abyan authorities' quick response and pledged to support joint efforts to identify survivors, recover bodies and assist affected families. More than 350 migrants have died or gone missing along the eastern route since the start of the year, the IOM said, warning the real toll is likely far higher. Every life lost is a stark reminder of the human cost of irregular migration, the agency said, renewing calls for stronger protection systems, effective rescue operations and accountability for smugglers and traffickers.
Jordan Times
04-08-2025
- General
- Jordan Times
76 dead, dozens missing after migrant boat sinks off Yemen
DUBAI — At least 76 people were killed, and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen, in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP Monday. Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The UN migration agency said 157 people were on board. Sunday's incident was "one of the deadliest" migrant shipwrecks off Yemen this year, Abdusattor Esoev, the International Organization for Migration's chief of mission for Yemen, told AFP. The ship was headed to Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states. Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen's Aden, near Abyan, a security official said. The UN agency earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead, with Esoev telling AFP that "the fate of the missing is still unknown". Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See's secretary of state, said the Pope was "deeply saddened by the devastating loss of life". 'No choice' Each year, thousands brave the so-called "Eastern Route" from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route last year, 462 of them from boat accidents. "This route is predominantly controlled by smugglers and human-trafficking networks... Refugees and migrants have no other alternative but to hire their services," Ayla Bonfiglio, of the Mixed Migration Centre research and policy organisation, told AFP. "Migrants are well aware of the risks, but with no legal pathways and families relying on remittances from Saudi Arabia or the Emirates, many feel they have no choice," she added. Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers forced 150 migrants off a boat in the Red Sea, according to the IOM. The vessel that sank off Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province's security directorate and an IOM source. Yemeni security forces were recovering a "significant" number of bodies, the Abyan directorate said on Sunday. On their way to the Gulf, migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea that is a major route for international trade, as well as for migration and human trafficking. Once in Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country, migrants often face other threats to their safety. The IOM says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys. In April, more than 60 people were killed in a strike blamed on the United States that hit a migrant detention centre in Yemen, according to the Huthi rebels who control much of the country. The wealthy Gulf monarchies host significant populations of foreign workers from South Asia and Africa.
CBS News
04-08-2025
- General
- CBS News
Dozens dead, dozens more missing after migrant boat sinks off Yemen
At least 76 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP on Monday. Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people have been rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The U.N.'s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said 157 people were on board. The accident occurred off the Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states. Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen's Aden, near Abyan, a security official said. The IOM earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead. Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia, which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict. Each year, thousands brave the so-called "Eastern Route" from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and finding work. Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing in shipwrecks off Yemen in recent months, The Associated Press finds out. The IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route last year, 462 of them from boat accidents. Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers forced migrants to disembark from a boat in the Red Sea, according to the IOM. The vessel that sank off Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province's security directorate and an IOM source. Yemeni security forces were conducting operations to recover a "significant" number of bodies, the Abyan directorate said on Sunday. On their way to the Gulf, migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea that is a major route for international trade, as well as for migration — and human trafficking. Once in war-torn Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula's poorest country, migrants often face other threats to their safety. The IOM says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys. In April, more than 60 people were killed in a strike blamed on the United States that hit a migrant detention center in Yemen, according to the Huthi rebels who control much of the country. The wealthy Gulf monarchies host significant populations of foreign workers from South Asia and Africa.
Telegraph
04-08-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Dozens of migrants killed after boat sinks near Yemen
At least 68 migrants have died and dozens of others are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopians sank of Yemen. The vessel, with 154 people onboard, sank in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, sparking a huge search and rescue operation. Abdusattor Esoev, the head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Yemen, said: 'As of last night, 68 people aboard the boat were killed, but only 12 out of 157 have been rescued so far. The fate of the missing is still unknown.' Mr Esoev said the bodies of 54 people washed ashore in the district of Khanfar, while 14 others were found dead and taken to a hospital morgue in Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan on Yemen's southern coast. The rest are missing and presumed to have died. Despite the war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict. Migrants ready to risk lives on deadly route Each yeah, thousands brave the so-called 'Eastern Route' from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries. The vessel that sank off the coast of Yemen's Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province's security directorate. It said on Sunday that security forces were conducting operations to recover a 'significant' number of bodies. Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing in off Yemen in recent months, including in March when two boats holding 180 people sank between Yemen and Djibouti. Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers had forced migrants to disembark from a boat in the Red Sea, according to the UN's migration agency. Last year, the IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route, with 462 resulting from shipwrecks. The International Organisation for Migration says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys. More than 60,000 migrants arrived in Yemen in 2024, down from 97,200 in 2023, probably because of greater patrolling of the waters, according to an IOM report in March.
The Guardian
04-08-2025
- General
- The Guardian
More than 140 migrants believed dead as boat capsizes off Yemen
A boat has capsized off Yemen's coast leaving 68 African migrants dead and 74 others missing, the UN's migration agency said. It was the latest in a series of shipwrecks off Yemen that have killed hundreds of people fleeing conflict and poverty in hopes of reaching the wealthy Gulf Arab countries. The vessel, with 154 Ethiopian migrants onboard, sank in the Gulf of Aden off the southern Yemeni province of Abyan early on Sunday, the head of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Yemen said. Abdusattor Esoev said the bodies of 54 people washed ashore in the district of Khanfar, and 14 others were found dead and taken to a hospital morgue in Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan on Yemen's southern coast. Only 12 survived the shipwreck, and the rest were missing and presumed dead, Esoev said. The Abyan security directorate described a huge search-and-rescue operation given the large number of dead and missing migrants. Its statement said many dead bodies were found scattered across a wide area of the shore. Despite more than a decade of civil war , Yemen is a major route for people from east Africa and the Horn of Africa trying to reach the Gulf Arab countries for work. Migrants are taken by smugglers on often dangerous, overcrowded boats across the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden. Hundreds of people have died or gone missing in shipwrecks off Yemen in recent months, including in March when two migrants died and 186 others were missing after four boats capsized off Yemen and Djibouti , according to the IOM. More than 60,000 migrants arrived in Yemen in 2024, down from 97,200 in 2023, probably because of greater patrolling of the waters, according to an IOM report in March.
