Gulf | Yemen
20,000 illegal migrants arrive in Yemen
An international aid group says more than 20,000 Africans have made the treacherous journey across the Gulf of Aden into Yemen this year.
- AP
- Published: 00:07 July 4, 2008
- Image Credit: Reuters
- Illegal Somali immigrants rest on a beach in Ahwar. Many African migrants try to reach Yemen, which they see as a gateway to wealthier parts of the Middle East, and the West but many drown before reaching the coast.
Nairobi: An international aid group says more than 20,000 Africans have made the treacherous journey across the Gulf of Aden into Yemen this year.
Medecins Sans Frontieres, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said the number of illegal migrants crossing Gulf of Aden has doubled from the same period last year.
The journey is dangerous and the smugglers who transport them are notoriously brutal.
About 400 people have been confirmed as dead or missing through the end of May.
Most of the migrants are Somalis, with a smaller number of Ethiopians.
Yemen is struggling with the influx of illegal migrants from Africa.
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