Death at sea as gunmen panic

A boat carrying 155 Somalis seeking a new life in Yemen capsized off the coast of Las Qoray, in Sanag Region of the self-declared independent state of Somaliland, northwestern Somalia, on 18 May. More than 80 people are believed to have drowned after gunmen panicked, forcing people into the water, before the boat capsized. A survivor told IRIN that trouble started when the engine of the boat stalled, and gunmen started to force people off the boat. “There was a lot of shooting and shouting to get people off the boat,” Seynab Husayn Muhammad said by phone from Bosaso, commercial capital of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia. Later, the boat capsized, she said. Suvivors were picked by by four fishing boats from Las Qoray. Of the 71 survivors found, 35 on Monday were being looked after at the Jamima former police training camp on the outskirts of the Bosaso town. Others had gone to Bosaso town, or remained in Las Qqoray, Seynab said. They include a six month-old baby and two children under 10 years old. “We survived by the grace of Allah, and the efforts of the people of Las Qoray”, Seynab said. According to the survivor, four fishing boats from Las Qoray picked up all the survivors. Some brought to shore had bullet wounds, Muhammad Deq, a local journalist in Bosaso, who visited some of the survivors, told IRIN. Passengers had paid up to US $500 for the trip, but were horrified when they were forced off the boat when the engine stalled and the six-man crew turned their guns on the passengers. “They first forced 12 men, who argued with them, off the boat,” Seynab said. More men were persuaded to “go for a swim”, but were not allowed back on board, she said. Despite the large number of passengers, they could not confront the gunmen, who were perched on top of the boat. Local sources who visited the survivors said the majority of the passengers were from Mogadishu and Bay and Bakol regions in southern Somalia, who had been living in northern areas. Seynab said she paid US $300 for the trip to Yemen, where she hoped to move on to Saudi Arabia in search of work. “Almost everybody paid between $300 and 500 for the trip,” she told IRIN. So far, 28 of the dead have been found by searchers in the area, with the rest still missing, local journalists told IRIN. There was little hope that any more survivors would be found - “I don’t think they can survive. We were in high seas when they started throwing people overboard,” said Seynab. According to Muhammad Said Kashawiito of Puntland daily ‘Sooyal’, the dead were all found around Las-Qoray, with five dying on the beach after they were rescued at sea. The fate of the six gunmen is not known. Local journalists and Puntland security say they are believed to have survived after hijacking a boat from the Las-Qoray fishermen. “We believe they are the Bosaso area”, Kashawito told IRIN. Puntland security were treating the incident as a “criminal act”, a police source told IRIN. “They never had any intention of taking these people to Yemen,” the source said. Security sources said that “ruthless criminal gangs” charge high prices - often to displaced people - who want to try their luck in the Arab countries, either for work, or to try and seek refugee status. Often the boats are in poor condition, local sources said. Since the collapse of Somalia’s central government in 1991, many Somali refugees and illegal immigrants have died at sea.