Eight Somali refugees were killed while boarding a smugglers' boat on southern Yemen's coast last week, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday, highlighting the risks of trying to cross the Gulf of Aden.
A woman died when the boat's propeller gashed her in the head after she fell overboard and seven men drowned in the accident at Al-Sudaf in Lahj governorate, UNHCR said.
The tragedy occurred when the people-smuggling boat suddenly started its engine and tried to flee from an approaching Yemeni coastguard vessel, according to UNHCR.
Yemeni coastguard intercepted the boat, which was reportedly heading to the Sudanese coast with over 100 Somali refugees on board, UNHCR said
UNHCR launched a multi-lingual information campaign on Tuesday to raise awareness of the dangers of crossing the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea from Africa to war-wracked Yemen, a route taken by more than 117,000 refugees and migrants last year.
Singing star and former refugee Maryam Mursal and other prominent musicians from the region have written a song aimed at persuading refugees not to attempt the crossing to Yemen.
Some 7,100 people have been killed, 44,000 injured, and more than 2 million displaced in Yemen since and almost 19 million people in the impoverished country require humanitarian assistance.
“It’s a humanitarian catastrophe inside Yemen,” said Amin Awad, UNHCR's Middle East and North Africa director.
Criminal networks can target people arriving in the country, who also risk arbitrary arrest, detention and deportation, physical and sexual violence, hunger and thirst, UNHCR said, adding that the turmoil in the country severely hampered its ability to reach those in need of aid.
In northern Yemen in particular, refugees struggle to apply for asylum or receive documents from the country's authorities, said UNHCR, describing the situation as "extremely challenging".
