Yemeni Coast Guard Arrests 600 Illegal Migrants in Shabwa and Stops Two Smuggling Boats

The Yemeni Coast Guard forces managed to arrest 600 illegal Ethiopian migrants on the shores of Shabwa Governorate (southeast Yemen), while they stopped two smuggling boats that were transporting them along with a crew of 8 Yemeni sailors.

A statement issued by the Security Media Center of the internationally recognized Yemeni government’s Ministry of Interior stated: "The Coast Guard forces managed to arrest 600 illegal Ethiopian migrants in the Radum district of Shabwa Governorate, located on the Arabian Sea."

The center added, quoting the governorate police, that the illegal migrants arrived on two smuggling boats, detailing that "the first boat is called 'The Legend' and arrived at the Arqa coast with 380 migrants on board, while the second boat 'The Advanced Legend' carried 220 others."

According to the same statement, they were "disembarked at the Dahuma site on the Arqa coast, and necessary measures were taken to secure the two boats and the sailors in preparation for completing investigations in coordination with the relevant authorities and international organizations."

In a related context, but in a separate operation, the Coast Guard forces in Shabwa had seized, on Tuesday, a foreign boat named "Al-Majid 12," owned by a person of Somali nationality, in Bir Ali in the Radum district.

According to information, "the individuals who were on the boat fled as soon as Coast Guard personnel boarded it to carry out routine 'arrival registration' procedures, which necessitated 'securing it to complete the necessary legal procedures against it.'"

Security sources indicate that the shores of Shabwa and Abyan "have become some of the most frequently used points in the human smuggling route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen, and from there to the border areas with Saudi Arabia, amid increasing smuggling activities carried out by organized networks that transport migrants under extremely dangerous humanitarian conditions."

For its part, humanitarian organizations continue to warn of the grave dangers faced by migrants, pointing out that "smuggling trips across the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden pose a severe risk to the lives of migrants, as they are carried out using primitive means and on overcrowded boats that do not meet the minimum safety standards, leading to the drowning of dozens annually on their way to Yemen."

The Yemeni shores have witnessed a noticeable increase in the pace of this phenomenon since the beginning of this year, despite the difficult conditions the country is going through. Data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reveals the magnitude of the challenge, as "IOM data indicates that more than 90,000 illegal migrants arrived in Yemen during the year 2024, most of them of Ethiopian nationality, on their way to cross into Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries."