Smugglers carrying asylum seekers in fishing boats from Somalia have started taking new routes across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen as a result of the increased security patrols along the Yemeni coast, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday.
The refugee agency said that last weekend a boat with 130 people on board had arrived in the region of Jebel-Reidah, about 100km south-east of Mayfa'a, where there is a reception centre for refugees. According to the UNHCR, seven people drowned after being forced to disembark offshore in deep water. Villagers who live close to the shore buried the bodies and the survivors were transferred to Mayfa'a Reception Centre where they are being looked after by UNHCR and local NGOs.
At the end of last week, 136 Somalis and 96 Ethiopians were picked up by Aden security and immigration authorities in Imran, a fishing town near Aden. According to the security officials, the new arrivals, who included a number of women and children, were found on Al-Azizyia Island in the Red Sea and were transferred by coastal guards to Imran. UNHCR said that this indicated that smugglers have started taking new routes to Yemen as a result of the increased security along the Yemeni coast and the vigilance of coastal guards who tried last December to arrest smugglers. The new drop-off point near Aden is hundreds of kilometres away from Mayfa'a Reception Centre. The journey from Somalia to Aden takes three days, instead of the usual 48-hour voyage. |