Smugglers push migrants into sea off Yemen, killing 29 and 22 missing

Smugglers forced more than 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into rough seas off Yemen on Wednesday, leaving 29 dead and 22 missing, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

The IOM said it had found the shallow graves of 29 migrants on a beach in the southern province of Shabwa after they had been buried by survivors.

“The smugglers deliberately pushed the migrants into the waters since they feared that they would be arrested by the authorities once they reach the shore,” an IOM emergency officer in Aden told AFP.

Then they “simply went back to where they came from to pick more migrants and try to smuggle them into Yemen, again”.

IOM says around 55,000 migrants have left the Horn of Africa headed for Yemen since the start of the year, most aiming to find work in Gulf countries.

Source: Smugglers push migrants into sea off Yemen, killing 29: IOM | SBS News