The forgotten crisis of the Red Sea

Another boat carrying 45 refugees sank in the last few hours, right on the central stretch of the trade routes that are causing so much concern because of Houthi attacks. Last year, almost 100,000 people travelled the same route, which the International Organization for Migration describes as the most dangerous in the world.

Milan (/Agencies) – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that another boat sank off the coast of Yemen last night with more than 45 people on board. Only four survivors were sighted at sea off Taiz Governorate. The agency cited “strong winds and overloading” as the cause.

An even more serious tragedy occurred last month when a boat carrying around 260 people, mostly from Ethiopia and Somalia, sank in the same waters on 10 June.

The sea routes between Yemen and the Horn of Africa have become the most common for refugees and migrants travelling in both directions. The area had seen a growing number of Yemenis fleeing the country following the outbreak of civil war in 2014. In April 2022, Houthi rebels and government forces signed a truce that led to a decrease in violence and an alleviation of the current humanitarian crisis, but is now vulnerable to escalating Houthi attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and drone strikes that last week hit and killed even Tel Aviv. Israel responded by heavily shelling the port of Hodeidah.

Despite this, thousands of people fleeing conflict in Africa continue to seek refuge in Yemen or try to cross its territory to reach the more prosperous countries of the Gulf. According to analyses of migration flows, this route remains one of the “busiest and most dangerous” in the world.

Last year, nearly 97,000 migrants arrived in Yemen from the Horn of Africa, following a route that is often deadly: since 2014, the International Organization for Migration has recorded 1,860 deaths and missing in that stretch of sea.