At least 38 migrants, including children, lost their lives on Monday in a shipwreck off the coast of Djibouti, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday. The Ethiopian embassy in Djibouti specifies that these individuals were Ethiopians en route to Yemen.
According to the Ethiopian embassy in Djibouti, the vessel “capsized off the northeast coast of Djibouti on Monday,” carrying “60 Ethiopian migrants heading towards Yemen.” The IOM reports that “38 bodies, including children,” have been recovered following the shipwreck, along with “22 survivors” and six individuals “missing and presumed dead.”
The “Eastern Route,” taken by migrants from the Horn of Africa to reach Saudi Arabia via war-torn Yemen, is regarded by the IOM as “one of the most dangerous and complex migration routes in Africa and the world.”
Since 2014, approximately 1,000 people have been killed or gone missing while traversing this route, according to the IOM. In November 2023, 64 migrants were reported missing, presumed dead at sea, in a shipwreck off the coast of Yemen, as recalled by this United Nations agency.
In addition to shipwrecks, migrants face risks of “famine, health hazards,” encounters with “traffickers and other criminals,” and lack “medical care, food, water, shelter” along the way, emphasizes the organization.
Ethiopians constitute a significant portion of migrants following this Eastern Route in hopes of a better life in Saudi Arabia. Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa with 120 million inhabitants, is beset by numerous conflicts, has endured significant droughts in recent years, and suffers from economic hardship.
“Even though accidents are frequent, the number of migrants continues to rise,” laments the Ethiopian embassy in Djibouti, underscoring that “illegal journeys to Yemen via Djibouti yield nothing but death.”