Three Ethiopians killed crossing Sea of Aden

Three Ethiopians are reported to have died while travelling to Yemen earlier this week, bringing the known death toll of African migrants making the perilous journey to almost 50 this month alone, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. The three victims were reported to have been beaten to death by the boat crew during the voyage and their bodies thrown in the sea. “It’s very sad that people continue to die in such a horrendous way while simply trying to find a better life,” said UNHCR spokeswoman in Geneva Astrid Van Genderen Stort. “Many people have died needlessly over the past year while crossing the Gulf of Aden.” Two boats carrying some 335 Somalis and Ethiopians left Shimbarale in Somalia on 13 May, arriving at Belhaf in the south of Yemen late the same day. A total of 35 people made it to the UNHCR reception centre in May'faa in southern Yemen. However there are no details on the whereabouts of the remaining 300. It is believed that passengers pay the equivalent of between US $30 and US $50 to make the voyage, which is a popular route for smugglers carrying economic migrants from the Horn of Africa. Several hundred people have died while attempting to make the crossing since last September, according to UNHCR, with some 241 boats carrying migrants. The waters are particularly dangerous between June and September, when maritime conditions are considerably rougher. According to UNHCR, smugglers – fearing capture by the Yemeni Coast Guard (YCG) – sometimes throw passengers overboard before the boats reach the shore. “The seas are infested with sharks, and survival is nearly impossible,” said Van Genderen Stort. On 8 May, the UNHCR reported that at least 39 people drowned and the bodies were found near Belhaf in Al Ayn on the southern coast of Yemen. They were part of a group of 349, according to survivors on that boat. UNHCR is assisting 98 of the survivors. YCG deputy commander Brigadier General Saleh Mujalli refused to discuss the issue. But a well-placed interior ministry source, who wishes to remain annonymous, said the authorities were still looking for bodies, although the chances of finding survivors were slim. The same source also said that the YCG was combing Yemeni waters in search of smugglers. Somalis in particular travel to Yemen in search of a better and safer life due to instability in their homeland and the fact that they receive refugee status on arrival. The refugee agency, meanwhile, is working with the authorities of Puntland to inform people about the dangers of using smugglers to cross the Gulf of Aden. “We continue to highlight the need for joint international action to tackle this problem. We cannot stress enough that this issue is the responsibility of many different actors, including the respective governments and the international community,” Van Genderen Stort said. “Without addressing the root causes of the outflow, progress in stemming the smuggling will be extremely limited.”