ALBAWABA - The International Organization of Migration (IOM) announced on X, that At least 16 people are dead and 28 missing in a new migrant boat disaster off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti.
The IOM said that its teams in Djibouti, along with relevant authorities and search and rescue teams are working to avoid deepening the disaster. "Tragedy as boat capsizes off Djibouti coast with 77 migrants on board including children. At least 28 are missing. 16 dead," the X post reads.
It was the most recent fatal accident on the so-called Eastern Migration Route. The accident occurred about two weeks after another boat carrying mainly Ethiopian migrants sank off the Djibouti coast, claiming several dozen lives.
Another boat carrying around 60 passengers sank off the coast of Godoria, northeast of Djibouti, on April 8, according to the IOM and the Ethiopian embassy in Djibouti.
At the time, the IOM said that 38 migrants, including children, had been discovered dead, with another six still missing. The embassy in Djibouti stated that the boat was transporting Ethiopian migrants from Djibouti to war-torn Yemen.
Every year, tens of thousands of African migrants attempt to reach Saudi Arabia via the "Eastern Route" across the Red Sea and through Yemen, either to flee violence or natural disaster or to seek better economic possibilities.
"On their journeys, many face life-threatening dangers including starvation, health risks, and exploitation -– at the hands of human traffickers and other criminals," the IOM said in a statement in February.
According to the IOM, Ethiopians account for 79 percent of the approximately 100,000 migrants who landed in Yemen from Djibouti or Somalia last year, with the remainder being Somalis.
Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous country, is plagued by multiple conflicts, and numerous parts have experienced severe drought in recent years. More than 15 percent of its 120 million inhabitants depend on food aid.
