Africa-Yemen migration crisis requires new approach, IOM warns

African migrants risk death and violence as they try to reach Gulf countries through Yemen

Security forces in Abyan province, Yemen, search for bodies and survivors after a boat carrying about 200 mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off the coast. AFP

An international security initiative is urgently needed in the Red Sea region to curb human trafficking, experts and officials said.

The call for action comes after about 100 people died when a boat carrying about 150 migrants capsized off Yemen’s coast this month, drawing renewed attention to irregular migration.

The civil war in Yemen since 2014 has not only created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises but has also brought migration to its shores, as migrants hope to cross and find work in neighbouring Gulf states.

Scores of African migrants killed as boat sinks off Yemen, officials say

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Migrants often sail from Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan, where violence has driven thousands to flee, making the route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen one of the busiest and deadliest in the world.

Last year, the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) recorded 446,000 movements along the Eastern Route, 10 per cent of which were by children. It is known that on the route, migrants are often subject to life-threatening conditions, including starvation and dehydration.

Since January 2025, at least five boat capsizes have been reported in Yemeni waters, Abdusattor Esoev, the IOM Yemen chief of mission, told The National.

In the past decade, at least 1,098 migrants drowned at sea off Yemen, while in 2025, 378 such deaths were recorded, including the latest incident.

“The migrant crisis in Yemen is a crisis within a crisis, in which migrants are exposed to various protection risks,” explained Mr Esoev. “In 2024, more than 60,000 migrants have arrived on Yemen’s shores,” he added.

Crossing on foot

The gateways for migrants in Yemen are mostly coastal entry points such as Ra’s Al Arah and Al Madaribah in Lahj Governorate, Rudum in Shabwah and Mokha along the southern Red Sea. The migrants then gather in major cities such as Aden, Ataq, Rada’a, Al Bayda, Sanaa, Mukalla, and Marib, before eventually reaching Souq Al-Raqou and Souq Al-Thabet in Saada – two key gathering points before crossing into Saudi Arabia.

Security forces stand guard in Yemen's Abyan province. Officials are urging support for the Coast Guard with equipment and training. AFP

It has been reported that they cross into Saudi Arabia on foot from Yemen, walking thousands of miles in the hope of finding work.

“In the absence of a principled, rights-based approach to migration management in Yemen, we are seeing the criminalisation of migrants, deportations, and detention in inhumane conditions,” warned the IOM official.

In the past decade, the IOM recorded at least 2,169 migrant deaths both at sea and on land, while many more have likely gone unreported.

“The basis for resolving this issue requires co-operation between the coastal states of the Horn of Africa and Bab Al Mandeb and international organisations concerned with migration issues,” Mohammed Askar, Yemen's former human rights minister, told The National.

“There must be a clear strategy for addressing the conflict in Yemen and to protect migrants from abuse, violence and drowning, such as the disaster we recently witnessed,” said Mr Askar.

In addition, necessary arrangements must be made for those who reach Yemeni territory, whether with the IOM or the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), he advised.

Mr Askar said Yemen's internationally recognised government needs international support to take these initiatives as it cannot do so itself.

For Yemen expert Abulghani Al Eryani, the short-term intervention would be to support the Yemen Coast Guard with equipment and training.

The second step would be to establish and fund a repatriation mechanism, added Mr El Eyrani, who is also a consultant at the Sanaa Centre, an independent think tank.

“The long-term solution is to establish a multilateral security structure for the Red Sea Region that deals with smuggling, banditry and terrorism,” he explained.

Ninety now dead in Yemen migrant boat tragedy

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Training and awareness

Proper training is also needed to equip Yemen's coastal guards to prevent such tragedies from happening, Baraa Al Shiban, Yemen expert at the RUSI think tank. The current security situation in Yemen makes it difficult for the authorities to properly respond to such tragedies and try to prevent future incidents from happening, Mr Al Shiban said.

“There is also a lack of awareness inside Yemen of the many tragedies that occur at the Yemeni coast due to conflating the migrants, the victims, with the smugglers, who profit from their smuggling operations,” he said.

Saudi Arabia has implemented measures to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling, including a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and increased border security since 2020. The NRM aims to identify and assist victims of trafficking, while enhanced border controls aim to deter irregular migration.

Ahmed Nagi, Yemen senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said the government must establish communication with authorities in the Horn of Africa to tackle the issue.

Communication must be achieved in order “to work with relevant states to raise awareness among potential migrants, especially in coastal areas, about the dangers of engaging with smuggling networks and relying on them to reach Yemen”, he said.

“Secondly, to work jointly to combat this phenomenon and crack down on smugglers who show no regard for human life.”