IOM evacuates 338 Ethiopian immigrants via Sanaa Airport

SANAA, Jan. 30 (YPA) – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Wednesday said it had voluntarily deported 168 Ethiopian immigrants from Yemen through Sanaa International Airport.

“The organization was able to evacuate 168 irregular migrants on a voluntary basis to Ethiopia via Sanaa airport,” Anatolia news agency quoted Saba’ al-Mua’lemi, media and liaison officer of IOM in Yemen, as saying.

“About 170 other Ethiopian immigrants will leave the airport itself on Wednesday,” al-Mua’lemi said. She explained that this is the first air evacuation of Ethiopian immigrants from Yemen in 2019.

Yemen is a destination for refugees and migrants from the countries of the Horn of Africa, especially Somalia and Ethiopia, many of whom aim to move on their difficult journey to the Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia.

Last December, the IOM reported the arrival of some 150,000 refugees from the Horn of Africa to Yemen in 2018.

Reports of international organizations have talked about the exposure of African migrants to inhumane treatment such as murder and rape by Saudi-led coalition forces in the occupied southern areas of Yemen.

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