150,000 more migrants in Yemen this year

SANA'A, May 31 (Saba) - Yemen has received almost 150,000 migrants mainly from
African Horn countries over the last five months, a UNHCR report has said.

Among the migrants were 100.265 males and 47235 females.

The report said the migrants came from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea besides
thousands from other countries including Iraq.

On sending back refugees to their homelands, the UNHCR said 89 Iraqis and only 3
Ethiopians willingly accepted to return to their countries, however, it says it will
resume measures to make it easy for those immigrants in Yemen who want to return to
their countries.

The UNHCR will renew travel documents of Somali migrants when the situation in their
home becomes better to enable them go home.

The UNHCR representative in the country Clear Borjwa stressed the importance of the
role the media plays in reminding the people with humane assistance they should
provide for refugees and displaced people.

At the opening of a media workshop on refugees and displaced people, she said the
media must avoid publishing misinformation about asylum seekers and victims of human
trafficking.

The UNHCR praised Yemen's efforts to deal with migrants in its lands, saying it
adheres to agreements she signed on the issue.

Migrants, mostly from African Horn countries, arrive in Yemen almost daily, crossing
a very dangerous sea where many die when overcrowded boats capsize or when
passengers are ordered by smuggling boats owners to swim in deep waters to reach
Yemen's coastlines.

Yemen says the number of African migrants who have already reached its territories
exceeds 700.000 people, a figure which the UNHRC says is exaggerated.

So far this year, 131 African migrants, mostly from Somalia, drowned while trying to
reach Yemeni territories through sea and 66 others went missing, according to the
UNHRC.

In addition to economic overburdens migrants lay on Yemen's fragile economy, recent
official reports said that African migrants were a key reason behind a surge in AIDS
cases in the country.