Security force of Saada governorate have stated that about 300 Ethiopians including 19 women were seized while they were trying to illegally infiltrate to the Yemeni lands.
Security sources expressed concern about turning of Saada to an a destinationof illegal immigrants, explaining that Ethiopians daily arrive in Saada and that some of them infiltrate to Saudi Arbia through the Yemeni-Saudi borders.
The security sources handed over the seized Ethiopians to the Passport and Immigration Authority in Sana'a to take legal measures against them, the Interior Ministry said in its website. Meanwhile, the ministry ordered the security services of Amran, Hajjah and Hodeidah to seize Africans who remarkably flow to the Yemeni lands and surrender them to the concerned authorities.
Hundreds of Africans perish every year attempting the hazardous sea voyage on rickety fishing boats run by smugglers.
According to UNHCR’s, 10,000-15,000 Ethiopian immigrants annually enter Haradh illegally along Yemen’s western coast.
More than 65,000 Ethiopian immigrants arrived to Yemen in 2011, compared to 34,422 in 2010, UNHCR stated.
The UN refuge agency further pointed out that 37, 333 Ethiopians arrived in Yemen illegally, revealing that 616 are either dead or still missing.
Yemen's security authorities have revealed that about 200 African refugees were subjected to brutal violations by criminal gangs in Haradh, a remote area of Yemen’s Hajjah Governorate near the Saudi Arabian border.
The security authorities found out 70 Africans seized inside a house of smuggler. They said they were beaten with pipes and burnt with cigarettes. The refugees are seized until their families send ransoms in return of releasing them.