(GENEVA, June 21 (KUNA)-The International Organization for Migration (IOM) resumes on Tuesday evacuation of stranded Ethiopian migrants from Yemen as it continues providing assistance to those displaced by conflict.
More than 1,900 Ethiopian migrants stranded near Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia in desperate conditions and unable to return home are to be helped by IOM as it resumes a humanitarian evacuation programme out of this country.
"A first group of 275 Ethiopians, including 115 minors, 34 women, 15 cases treated from gunshot wounds, and two cases requiring psychological assistance, were taken from Haradh to Hodeidah on Yemen's Red Sea coast and flown to Addis Ababa on Monday June 20 on an IOM-chartered flight," said the IOM Spokesperson Jean-Philippe Chauzy in a press briefing.
On arrival, the returnees were taken to an IOM Transit Centre and provided with accommodation, reintegration assistance and where necessary, medical and psychosocial support.
The IOM operation to help stranded migrants in Yemen, which began last November, has had to be put on hold a few times due either lack of funding or the security situation in the country.
To date, IOM has assisted 3,756 Ethiopian migrants to return home from Haradh, where the Organization has a centre providing shelter for vulnerable migrants, many of whom are hungry, exhausted or made ill by their long trek to the north of the country.
A total of 28,179 Ethiopian irregular migrants have arrived in Yemen so far this year, in addition to 9,227 Somalis, bringing the total arrivals for the first half of 2011 to 37,406, according to UNHCR.
Of these, around 12,000 have managed to reach Haradh, where they are registered and given shelter and assistance by IOM and its partners.
More than 1,900 Ethiopian migrants stranded near Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia in desperate conditions and unable to return home are to be helped by IOM as it resumes a humanitarian evacuation programme out of this country.
"A first group of 275 Ethiopians, including 115 minors, 34 women, 15 cases treated from gunshot wounds, and two cases requiring psychological assistance, were taken from Haradh to Hodeidah on Yemen's Red Sea coast and flown to Addis Ababa on Monday June 20 on an IOM-chartered flight," said the IOM Spokesperson Jean-Philippe Chauzy in a press briefing.
On arrival, the returnees were taken to an IOM Transit Centre and provided with accommodation, reintegration assistance and where necessary, medical and psychosocial support.
Unaccompanied minors will be referred to UNICEF and its partners later today. The remaining group of Ethiopian migrants wanting to return home will be assisted through another six evacuations in the next two weeks.
The IOM operation to help stranded migrants in Yemen, which began last November, has had to be put on hold a few times due either lack of funding or the security situation in the country.
To date, IOM has assisted 3,756 Ethiopian migrants to return home from Haradh, where the Organization has a centre providing shelter for vulnerable migrants, many of whom are hungry, exhausted or made ill by their long trek to the north of the country.
Yemen has long been a major transit point for irregular migration flows from the Horn of Africa to the Gulf countries and beyond.
The crisis in Yemen has led to large numbers of Ethiopian migrants and Somali asylum-seekers arriving on its shores as human smugglers take advantage of the political instability in the country.
A total of 28,179 Ethiopian irregular migrants have arrived in Yemen so far this year, in addition to 9,227 Somalis, bringing the total arrivals for the first half of 2011 to 37,406, according to UNHCR.
Of these, around 12,000 have managed to reach Haradh, where they are registered and given shelter and assistance by IOM and its partners.
Source: Kuait News Agency (KUNA)
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