Over 7,000 migrants make the journey from Somalia to the Arabian Gulf every month according to the the International Organization for Migration at least 46 migrants from Ethiopia died, with 16 others still missing after a smuggler’s boat with over 100 migrants capsized near Yemen, the United Nations migration agency said.
The boat was traveling from Bossasso in Somalia, with around 83 men and 17 women on board who were hoping to find work in the Arabian Gulf, the International Organization for Migration said, citing information from survivors.
“Over 7,000 poor migrants take this perilous journey every month; some 100,000 took it just last year. They are treated appallingly and go through horrendous conditions. This has to end,” the the International Organization for Migration director of operations and emergencies, Mr Mohammad Abdiker said.
“Both while traveling to and in Yemen, migrants are routinely abused by smugglers and other criminals, including physical and sexual abuse, torture for ransom, arbitrary detention for long periods of time, forced labor and even death,” a statement by the the International Organization for Migration said.
According to the International Organization for Migration , many migrants leaving from Somalia to find work end up caught up in the war currently tearing apart Yemen, which is currently under a blockade by Saudi Arabia and other gulf countries and is facing starvation and epidemic.
Last week the International Organization for Migration assisted 101 Ethiopians to leave Yemen for Djibouti as fighting closed in around Yemen’s Hodeidah port.