Boat capsizing off the coast of Yemen claims the lives of 68 African migrants and dozens missing

In a new tragedy reflecting the dangers faced by migrants seeking to escape poverty and search for job opportunities, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) affiliated with the United Nations announced last night, Sunday, the death of 68 Ethiopian migrants and the disappearance of 74 others after a boat carrying them capsized off the coast of Abyan Governorate in southern Yemen.

According to statements by Abd al-Sattar Iswif, head of the IOM mission in Yemen, to the "Associated Press," the boat was carrying 154 Ethiopian migrants, all from the Oromo ethnicity, and capsized in the sea while they were attempting to reach Yemeni shores.

Iswif added that only 12 migrants survived the tragic incident, while the waves washed the bodies of 54 migrants ashore in the Khafn district of Abyan Governorate, and 14 other bodies were found at a different location and were transported to the morgue of a hospital.

The Abyan Governorate Security Administration clarified that the incident necessitated a massive humanitarian search and rescue operation, especially given the large number of victims and missing persons.

They confirmed that "the bodies were found scattered over a wide stretch of the beach, and there are still unknown numbers missing in the sea."

For its part, a security source told the "France Press" agency that "smuggling boats are continuously reaching our shores, and we face great difficulty in controlling this dangerous route."

Despite the devastating civil war that Yemen has been experiencing since 2014, it still represents a major route for irregular migration, especially for migrants coming from the Horn of Africa, primarily Ethiopians, who cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait from Djibouti in dangerous smuggling boats, aiming to reach Gulf countries.

The International Organization for Migration warns of the increasing dangers on this route, confirming that "thousands of migrants find themselves trapped in Yemen, where they are subjected to serious abuses and exploitation by smugglers and human trafficking networks."

The organization had recorded hundreds of deaths and missing persons in similar incidents in recent months; in March, two migrants died, and 186 others went missing after four boats sank off the coasts of Yemen and Djibouti.

According to a report issued by the International Organization for Migration in March 2025, about 60,900 migrants arrived in Yemen in 2024, compared to 97,200 in 2023, and this decline is believed to be due to increased maritime patrols in the region.