Recent UN data indicates a surge in the arrival of African migrants in Yemen with approximately 200,000 individuals entering the war-torn country with the intention of unlawfully proceeding to Gulf nations in pursuit of employment opportunities.
Approximately half of these migrants arrived during the initial seven months of this year.
The International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) has verified the ongoing influx of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa to the coast of Yemen, with the count of returnees to their home countries in 2023 not surpassing 5,000.
Out of the 200,000 migrants, approximately 43,000 find themselves stranded across the country.
Since the start of 2022, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has provided assistance to over 5,700 stranded migrants and victims of trafficking to facilitate their safe return to their home countries from Yemen.
Additionally, humanitarian aid has been extended to around 300,000 vulnerable migrants in Yemen, Somalia, and Djibouti.
In 2023 thus far, the IOM has aided 5,631 migrants in returning to their home countries, with 5,572 of them being Ethiopians.
The IOM is currently issuing an appeal for $58.5 million via the Migrant Response Plan (MRP) for the Horn of Africa and Yemen to sustain this crucial assistance within the region.
Yemen, a nation already devastated by years of conflict initiated by Iran-backed Houthi militias, is still grappling with the grim challenges of displacement.
During the first half of 2023, there has been a decline in the count of individuals displaced from their residences in Yemen. The Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) has documented that over the initial six months of the year, more than 21,066 people were compelled to abandon their homes in search of safety and refuge elsewhere.
This represents a 50% reduction compared to the corresponding period in 2022 when there were 42,012 reported displacements.
