African migrant boat sinks off Djibouti, at least 109 dead and 116 missing

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a related organization of the United Nations system, stated on the 11th that a migrant boat sank off the coast of Djibouti, an East African country, on the night of the 8th and 9th of this month, killing at least 109 people, including 15 children, and about 116 others missing.

According to the IOM statement, survivors pointed out that the migrant boat carrying 350 people and originally scheduled to go from Djibouti to Yemen capsized in the sea north of the port city of Obock in Djibouti. The statement also said that the remains of 109 victims have been recovered so far, including 52 men, 42 women, and 15 children (9 women and 6 men); more than 80 survivors are all Ethiopians from Djibouti's neighboring country.

Alexandre Coissac, IOM representative in Djibouti, said the organization's staff are on the ground working with Djibouti authorities to provide emergency assistance... This tragedy is a reminder of the great dangers faced by migrants seeking economic opportunities in the migration corridor that crosses the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen and then to the Persian Gulf countries.

The IOM said that despite continued turmoil in the Middle East, poverty, insecurity and the increasing impact of climate change are still driving many people to embark on the journey of migration.

Djibouti faces Yemen at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula across the Red Sea shipping channel Bab el-Mandeb. The Yemeni rebel "Youth Movement" had previously taken control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which could block Saudi Arabia's oil exports, but the Yemeni government forces supported by Saudi Arabia later regained it.