|
UN:
ATROCITIES MARK START OF NEW PEOPLE-SMUGGLING SEASON ACROSS GULF OF ADEN,
UN REPORTS : 12/9/2007 (MaximsNews.com, U.N.) |
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com@
U.N./
- 12 September 2007 –
People-smuggling boats from Somalia have once
again taken to the Gulf of Aden in the perilous annual exodus to Yemen, despite
bad weather conditions, amid reports of new deadly atrocities committed by
smugglers against the migrants, the United Nations refugee agency said
yesterday.
“Twelve
died on the high seas under horrific circumstances. At least five of them were
beaten and stabbed by smugglers and thrown overboard, while another six died of
asphyxiation and dehydration in the hold of a boat. One person drowned after
disembarking in deep waters,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
spokesman Ron Redmond told a news briefing in Geneva.
In the
past week, 324 Somalis and Ethiopians have landed in Yemen as the new
people-smuggling season gets underway with the anticipated arrival of better
weather, in an annual ritual which sees tens of thousands of migrants risking
their lives in rickety vessels at the hands of often unscrupulous and brutal
traffickers.
“New
arrivals on 3 September told UNHCR staff that passengers on their vessel were
beaten with clubs and stabbed throughout the voyage. Several survivors were
treated for their injuries at a UNHCR-sponsored medical clinic in Yemen,” Mr.
Redmond said.
Since
January 2006 some 30,000 people braved the voyage, and nearly 400 were killed or
died as smugglers murdered some migrants and others perished when their boats
capsized.
Last
week, UNHCR officials reported that thousands of Ethiopians and Somalis had
already gathered in the northern Somali port of Bossaso in anticipation of the
new exodus and they said they feared that the new people-smuggling season would
be as bad and deadly as the last.
When the
latest boat approached shore near Arqa on Saturday, Yemeni forces reportedly
opened fire, barely missing the 90 passengers on board, Mr. Redmond said.
Smugglers ask between $60 and $100 for the journey.
Somali
refugees registered at the UNHCR’s reception centre said they left their
country due to conflict, arbitrary killings, the threat of detention, drought
and lack of work. Somalis account for half of the migrant flow and most have
fled conflict in southern and central parts of the country, including Mogadishu,
the capital. There are nearly 90,000 registered refugees in Yemen, almost all of
them Somalis.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
~~~~~
MaximsNews.com, An Independent Voice from the
U.N., provides commentary and analysis from
leading world figures: King Abdullah II
(Jordan), HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein
(Jordan), Sir Brian Urquhart, Hans Blix, Amb.
Richard Holbrooke, Anwar Ibrahim, Bianca Jagger,
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Shashi Tharoor, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Noeleen Heyzer, Kerry
Kennedy, Ian Williams, Stephen Schlesinger, Sen.
Timothy E. Wirth, Marc Morial, Amb. Jayantha
Dhanapala (Sri Lanka), Amb. Pierre Schori
(Sweden), Amb. William H. Luers, Susan Roosevelt
Weld, Rory Kennedy, Mehri
Madarshahi, J. Michael Adams, Gloria Feldt,
Jeffrey Laurenti, Rodney D. Smith, Ashley
Bommer, Rory
O'Connor, Genevieve Stamper, Max Stamper and
others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network reaching over 30,000 in the International Community. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries.
MaximsNews®LLC is in partnership with the United Nations Foundation and the Better World Fund.
Established in 1999.
The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews®
LLC.
MaximsNews.com
U.N. ® LLC News for the United Nations and the International Community -
www.MaximsNews.com
| MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com |
Please
contact us about Republishing:
Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2007, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights
reserved.
|
