UNHCR: 43,586 African refugees arrived in Yemen since beginning of 2009

SANA'A, Sep.
17 (Saba)-United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said 43,586 African
refugees
arrived in Yemen since the beginning of 2009.

In its press release, the UN agency said that 273 refugees off Aden Gulf coastline
in the previous period of this year.
At least 16 Africans died, and 49 others are missing and presumed dead, in three
separate incidents as boats smuggling them from Somalia to Yemen capsized in the
Gulf of
Aden on 13 and 14 September, the UN agency said.
According to the Yemeni official statistics, more than 800,000 Somali refugees are
in Yemen. However, the UNHCR estimated number of the refugees from Somalia at
160,000.
The Yemeni government in cooperation with the UNHCR set up centers to register
refugees to come out with unified statistics about number of the refugees in the
country.