At least 38 migrants have died after their ship ran into trouble off the coast of Djibouti, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The IOM said Tuesday six other people were missing and presumed dead, while 22 others were rescued from the shipwreck.
Djibouti on a popular route to Gulf nations
The Ethiopian embassy in Djibouti said the accident occurred on Monday and involved a boat carrying Ethiopian migrants from Djibouti to Yemen.
“Every year tens of thousands of migrants leave the Horn of Africa, mainly from Ethiopia and Somalia, trying to reach the Gulf nations,” Yvonne Ndege, regional spokesperson for the IOM, said.
They take the so-called “Eastern Route” across the Red Sea and through war-torn Yemen to reach Saudi Arabia to pull their families out of grinding poverty.
The IOM says the route is dangerous as traffickers target migrants, and they face kidnap, arbitrary arrest, and forced recruitment into warring groups, particularly in Yemen.
lo/wmr (AFP, Reuters)
