Somali migrants die off Yemen

Dozens of illegal Somali immigrants have drowned after their vessels capsized near the southern coast of Yemen due to bad weather. 

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Senior External Relations Officer, Leila Nassif said Sunday that as many as 200 people were aboard two boats when large waves capsized their vessels off Yemen. 

The bodies of the ill-starred immigrants were washed ashore. 

Dire economic conditions and violence in Somalia prompts many to escape from the conflict-plagued Horn of Africa state and cross to Yemen in hope of better living conditions. More than 4,500 migrants managed to reach poverty-stricken Yemen in 2008. 

Aid agencies say it is not just Somali refugees who are risking the crossing but also Ethiopians trying to raise themselves from poverty by seeking work and a better life in the Middle East, or Europe. 

Smugglers are known to cram dozens of men, women and children onto small boats and often beat and abuse the migrants during the journey, which can take up to three days. In a bid to avoid Yemeni coast guards, the smugglers often dump their passengers far from shore and force them to swim the rest of the way. 

The Gulf of Aden is not the only dangerous sea crossing for migrants. Hundreds of Africans die every year trying to make the journey across the Mediterranean to Spain, Italy and Greece. 

There are many reports of boat people dying at sea off Spain, usually because overcrowded vessels capsize or break apart, and survivors often throw bodies of fellow travelers overboard when they die of exposure or starvation. 

MP/MMN