Death toll rises off the coast

The death toll among smuggled migrants continued to rise on Wednesday after two boats capsized off the Yemeni coast on 21 and 22 January. According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), 91 bodies have been recovered so far, while 114 people are still described as “missing”. "In cooperation with local authorities and citizens, by this morning we had extricated 91 dead bodies and the citizens have already buried them," said Salah al-Aksar, director of the UNHCR Mayfa’a Refugee Reception Centre. The two vessels, illegally carrying 256 Somalis and Ethiopians, capsized off the rocky shoreline of Jabal Riada and Bir Ali in Shabwa province, about 760 km southeast of the capital, Sana. "The first boat was carrying 128 on board and only five of them survived," said al-Aksar. "The second was also carrying 128 refugees and 46 of them survived." Rescue operations are continuing to search for bodies along the coast. Between 12 and 23 January, at least 27 smugglers’ boats carrying unknown numbers of passengers arrived along the coast of Yemen from the Horn of Africa, according to UNHCR. The recent spate of arrivals followed a two-week lull due to inclement weather in the Gulf of Aden. Drought, recent clashes in parts of Somalia and general instability are believed to have prompted people to resort to smugglers, said UNHCR officials. “In many cases trafficking is the only option,” said UNHCR spokesman William Spindler. “These people can’t afford commercial flights or boats.” According to a UNHCR statement, another boat dropped some 120 people ashore at Bir Ali on 21 January. Passengers on that voyage reported that 10 people had died en route, four of whom were reportedly thrown overboard and six who died of dehydration. Another passenger died after reaching the shore. Despite government plans to combat smuggling across Yemen’s 2000 km long coast-line, officials expressed exasperation. "We have plans to combat smuggling and we have been implementing them, but our resources are not enough," said one official from the Coast Guard Authority, who requested anonymity. Since 12 January, 1,295 Somalis and 73 Ethiopians have been registered by UNHCR’s Mayfa’a reception centre in the capital. Many others, however, fail to register or make contact. Yemen, a party to the 1951 refugee convention, automatically affords refugees status to Somalis.