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UN:
UN REFUGEE AGENCY REPORTS INCREASE IN PEOPLE-SMUGGLING THROUGH GULF OF
ADEN: 17/10/2007 (MaximsNews Network)
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UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 17 October 2007 -
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) reports that the rate of smuggling boats reaching the shores of Yemen
after crossing the Gulf of Aden has increased during the first half of October,
along with the appalling death toll.
More
than 38 smuggling boats – an average of three a day – have been recorded
arriving along Yemen’s coast during the first 13 days of October, carrying
nearly 3,800 people, UNHCR
spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told a news
briefing in Geneva. A total of 38 people were known to have died
while 134 remained missing.
“The
new arrivals – both Somalis and Ethiopians – continue to tell us harrowing
stories of their journeys – for which they pay between $50 and $150 – during
which passengers are stabbed, beaten and thrown overboard by ruthless
smugglers,” Ms. Pagonis said.
On 9
October, passengers on two of three boats travelling together told UNHCR
officials they had been intercepted by a United States Navy vessel, stopped for
20 to 30 minutes, had photographs taken and were distributed with drinking water
that was later confiscated by the crew of the boat.
These
passengers reportedly arrived safely on shore, where the Yemeni navy was present
and checked the belongings and pockets of the Somalis and Ethiopians – some of
whom later reported that they were robbed of their money. The incident was
reported to the security commander of the Nusheima area.
The
passengers on the third boat informed UNHCR that when they neared the coast the
crew started beating the passengers and forced them into deep water, causing the
death of 10 male Ethiopians. Their bodies floated to the shore and were later
buried on the coast, in Mayfa-Hajar.
The
Somalis arriving on the boats are mainly from Mogadishu, Banadir region and
Afgoi district of the lower Shabelle region, and say they left because of
ongoing confrontations between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and
opposition forces, tribal fighting, unemployment, floods and droughts.
Poverty,
famine, economic instability, lack of educational opportunities and political
reasons were among the motives given by the Ethiopian arrivals for undertaking
the arduous journey to Yemen.
According
to the agency, a total of 18,757 people have crossed the Gulf of Aden by boat
this year. An estimated 404 were known to have died while 393 remain missing.
The exodus eased off in the summer due to rough seas but resumed again at the
beginning of September.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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