More than 550 migrants die attempting to cross Red Sea in 2024: IOM

At least 558 East African migrants lost their lives attempting to cross the Red Sea in 2024, Xinhua reported citing the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The UN migration agency reported that the majority of these fatalities were due to drowning, with 462 migrants perishing in shipwrecks. The past year witnessed six major shipwreck incidents attributed to factors such as unseaworthy boats, overcrowded vessels, poor maritime conditions, and smugglers forcing individuals to disembark at sea.

IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix indicated that despite the perilous nature of this migration route, approximately 446,194 movements were recorded from the Horn of Africa to countries in the Arabian Peninsula in 2024, representing a 13% increase compared to the previous year. This rise occurred despite increased patrols by Djibouti and Yemen coast guards in the Gulf of Aden, as well as military operations and forced returns that disrupted migration flows.

The report highlighted that economic factors remained the primary motivation for migration, followed by conflict, violence, and persecution. Notably, women and girls accounted for nearly one-third of the movements during the past year. The eastern migration route is described by the UN migration agency as “one of the busiest and riskiest routes in the world,” with hundreds of thousands of migrants often relying on smugglers for assistance.