The United Nation’s migration agency on Thursday said 52 people have so far been confirmed dead in the Djibouti boat disaster.
Two boats carrying over 130 African migrants, according to survivors sunk in the coast off Djibouti.
Officials of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) say the two vessels were heading to Yemen.
Rescue efforts are still ongoing in Djibouti’s northeastern Obock region to recover bodies from the disaster which occurred this week.
UN officials say the vessels, were mostly carrying mostly Ethiopians.
Many migrants continue to embark on dangerous journey hoping to reach some gulf countries to find jobs and better lives.
Djibouti in recent years has become a key transit point for migrants traveling to the Arabian Peninsula for better living conditions.
In 2018 over 30 migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia drowned on their way to Djibouti. Their boat capsized off the coast of Yemen.
Lalini Veerassamy, chief of mission for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Djibouti, told AFP that “No human being deserves such plight. It is up to actors and leaders working across the region to prevent such tragedies which take innocent lives.”
There are reports of many African migrants in Yemen being subjected to inhumane treatments.
The United Nations migration agency is helping to repatriate such migrants.
As the tragedy develops in Djibouti and we learn of 43 Yemen-bound migrants perishing at sea, @UNMigration also completes humanitarian airlift of 400 migrants, transporting them safely home from #Yemen. IOM remains committed to dignified solutions for migrants in crisis. pic.twitter.com/B4oaBDhEtW
— Mohammed Abdiker (@AbdikerM) January 30, 2019
Thousands of African migrants continue to travel to Yemen although the country is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Source: Africafeeds.com
