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21 dead, 23 missing after boat capsizes off Djibouti coast

By Reuters
April 24, 2024
Each year, many African migrants brave the perilous “Eastern Route” across the Red Sea and through war-scarred Yemen, escaping conflict or natural disaster, or seeking better economic opportunities. — AFP File
Each year, many African migrants brave the perilous “Eastern Route” across the Red Sea and through war-scarred Yemen, escaping conflict or natural disaster, or seeking better economic opportunities. — AFP File

NAIROBI: Twenty one migrants died and another 23 are missing after a boat carrying 77 people capsized off the coast of Djibouti, the second such incident in two weeks, the United Nations migration agency said on Tuesday. The boat’s occupants included children, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a post on social media platform X.

Tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa, especially from Ethiopia and Somalia, leave the continent through Djibouti, aiming to reach Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations to find work, according to IOM.

Another 33 people were rescued from the water, she said, adding that they and all the dead were Ethiopians

Many fail, and thousands are stranded in Yemen where they live in harsh conditions, IOM says.