UN: Migrant Boat Sinks Off Yemen, Leaving 13 Dead and 14 Missing

At least 13 people have died and 14 remain missing after a migrant boat sank off Yemen’s Taiz governorate, Arab News reported yesterday citing the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The vessel, carrying 25 Ethiopian migrants and two Yemeni nationals, capsized on Tuesday. Among the confirmed dead are 11 men and two women, with search operations ongoing for the missing, including the Yemeni captain and his assistant.

The cause of the shipwreck is still unclear. Matt Huber, acting chief of IOM’s mission in Yemen, emphasized that this tragedy highlights the dangers migrants face on this perilous route.

Each year, tens of thousands leave the Horn of Africa in search of better opportunities, with over 97,200 recorded migrant arrivals in Yemen in 2023 alone. This incident follows similar tragedies in June and July, underscoring the ongoing risks for migrants in a country ravaged by nearly a decade of civil war.