The Eritrean authorities seized 15 Yemeni boats in international waters and arrested and took their crews under gun threat to Eritrea's territorial waters, the interior ministry reported on Wednesday.
The Eritreans have confiscated all properties onboard the Yemeni boats and deported the crews on only four boats, it said.
The Yemeni crews have arrived at the Hodeida port and reported their story to the concerned authorities which have launched measures to retake the boats, the ministry added.
In recent years, Eritrea, Ethiopia and other countries have intercepted many Yemeni boats, harassed their crews in international boats and confiscated their boats and properties.
The boats have not been returned and the Yemeni authorities have not taken suitable action to put an end to the suffering of the fishermen.
Seizing boats and harassing their crews by foreign countries affect most of the Yemeni families in the coastal cities which depend on fishing to make livings.