| Submit your comments on this article |
| Arabia |
| Yemen fears Somali fighters are among increasing number of refugees arriving in Yemen |
| 2011-08-30 |
| [Yemen Observer] Over 400 Somali fighters arrived in the coastal town of Shukra in the southern province of Abyan where fierce battles are going on between Al Qaeda operatives and between the government troops and loyal rustics, said local sources on Thursday. The Somali fighters are believed to be from the Somali Al Shabaab group that previously promised to send fighters to help Al Qaeda in Yemen. The U.N. refugee agency [UNHCR] says an increasing number of Somali refugees are now going to Yemen -- fleeing drought, famine and conflict. It says the numbers correspond to a decrease in the number arriving in Kenya and Ethiopia. The deputy head of the Somali community in Yemen said it is very difficult for Al Shabaab to come to Yemen to fight with Al Qaeda, but he said it is not impossible. "I think it is very difficult for armed Somalis to make it to Yemen, as the anti-piracy western forces are almost everywhere in the sea, "said Sadat Mohammed, the deputy head of the Somali community in Yemen. "but because the Somali refugees flow to Yemen almost every day, so it is possible that a group of Somali fighters have already arrived disguised as refugees," said Mohammed. The UNHCR says more than 3,700 refugees have reached the coast of Yemen so far in August, and more are expected in the coming months. The route is a historically migratory one that is heavily travelled from the Horn of Africa across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen and other countries. "What we are witnessing in [recent] weeks is that the numbers continue to be significant within the context of the overall displacement of Somalis," said Andy Needham, the UNHCR public information officer for Somalia. He said those who do make it across the Gulf are received by aid agencies already working in an unstable environment in Yemen. "Our colleagues in Yemen as well as other countries in the region...have to deal with this influx of people coming on a regular basis as a result of the current famine displacements, explained Needham. While Somalis endure banditry and a lack of food and water in walking from their home country in search of relief at refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, the journey to Yemen is far more dangerous because they must cross the Gulf to get there. "It's extremely dangerous. It is often fatal, sadly. People are loaded onto vastly overcrowded boats that are perhaps barely seaworthy. They make these absolutely treacherous and perilous journeys across the Gulf and many never make it to the other side, dying along the way." Needham added, "They are cramped into every possible nook and cranny, even in the engine room. Sadly, we have come across many cases where people have simply suffocated from fume poisoning, as well as people drowning along the way." Often those who offer to take people across the water are unscrupulous, said Needham. Many are smugglers and human traffickers who, for fear of being incarcerated, dump the passengers overboard. "The vast majority are coming from Somalia and Ethiopia and cannot swim, so they drown." He said many mass graves are created along the beaches where the bodies have washed up. The refugees trying to cross the Gulf of Aden are a mix of people, mostly young men and teenagers with their smaller siblings in tow, searching for a new and better life. |
| Posted by:Fred |