DJIBOUTI
CITY, Djibouti
Thirty-four migrants drowned on Monday after their boat capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said, the second such accident in just over a month.
Survivors reported that the boat capsized in rough seas at
around 4:00 am (0100 GMT) after leaving Yemen with around 60 passengers on
board, an IOM official in Djibouti told AFP, asking not to be named.
“The migrants were being transported by people smugglers,”
Mohammed Abdiker, the IOM’s regional director for East Africa and the Horn of
Africa, added on Twitter.
“Apprehending and prosecuting people traffickers and
smugglers who exploit the vulnerabilities of migrants must become a priority.
Too many lives needlessly lost.”
There were “many children” among the bodies found, the
first official said, adding that survivors were receiving treatment from the
IOM and local authorities.
The boat capsized in seas north of the Djibouti port town
of Obock, a major transit point for thousands of African migrants in the region
trying to reach the Gulf.
It follows a similar accident on March 4 when 20 people
drowned after smugglers threw dozens of migrants overboard during a journey
between Djibouti and Yemen across the Gulf of Aden.
At least 200 migrants were packed aboard that vessel when
it left Djibouti. But about 30 minutes into the voyage the smugglers panicked
about the weight on board, and threw 80 people into the sea before turning back
towards land.
Two similar incidents in October claimed the lives of at
least 50 migrants.
Every year thousands of migrants make perilous boat
journeys from the Horn of Africa to war-torn Yemen, many with the aim of
travelling overland to Gulf nations in search of work.
It is believed thousands of migrants are stranded in Yemen,
where a years-long conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and
displaced millions in what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The strait which separates Djibouti from Yemen is unusual in that it sees migrants and refugees passing in both directions – boatloads of Yemenis fleeing to Africa to escape war, while others head in the opposite direction carrying African migrants to the Arabian Peninsula in search of better opportunities. - Agencies
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