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Migrants, refugees continue to arrive by boat in Yemen despite conflict: UN

Xinhua, October 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Close to 70,000 refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants, mainly originating from Ethiopia and Somalia, have arrived in Yemen by boat so far this year, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday.

Despite the ongoing conflict which has seen some 2,615 civilians killed and 5,193 injured, UNHCR indicated that over half of this year's arrivals have taken place since the crisis erupted in March this year.

Travel to Yemen is particularly dangerous, as shows the capsizing of a boat carrying 68 people three weeks ago in the Arabian Sea, an incident in which only 33 of the passengers survived.

UNHCR explained that most of the movements to Yemeni shores have shifted to the Arabian Sea where people believe the situation to be calmer.

Figures show that over 10,000 new arrivals were recorded in September, representing a 50-percent increase on August flows.

Over 10,000 entries have also been reported so far in October, the majority of them Ethiopian migrants who transit through Yemen in search of better opportunities further north.

UNHCR indicated that some 264,615 refugees, of which 250,260 are Somali, are located in Yemen today. Endit