Over 190 Somalis land in Yemen

TAIZ, Aug 29 (Saba)- About 199 Somali would-be
refugees, including 106 women, have reached Yemen's coasts in Thubab district,
Interior Ministry
reported on Saturday.
"In cooperation with the Yemeni Red Crescent, security authorities gathered the
Somalis and sent them to the main camp of refugees in Kharaz district of Lahj
province",
the ministry added.
Moreover, the security authorities were quoted as saying that more than 584 Somalis
refugees including women and children, have arrived in Yemen during 14-21 August.
Yemen expected that over 3000 Somalis have arrived in the country last July as a
result of deteriorating the security situation in Somalia.
The fighting between Islamic militias and government forces in the Somali capital
Mogadishu makes thousands of Somalis are ready to risk their lives on a rickety
boat to
be smuggled into Yemen.
Yemen, a gateway for Somalis to the Middle East, recognizes all Somalis as refugees
on a "prima facie basis," meaning they are automatically granted the right to stay.
But
many of those who cross the Gulf of Aden move on to Yemen's neighbors Saudi Arabia
and Oman in pursuit of jobs.
The escalating numbers of refugees place increasing strain on Yemen's limited
resources and pose more challenges to the government's efforts to balance its
obligations under
international law with the need to protect the country from illegal entry.
MB/YA