HEINOUS

Yemen Smugglers Force Refugees Into Water, Dozens Drown

Many women and children reported among the 29 dead, 22 missing.

More than 120 Somali and Ethiopian refugees trying to get to Yemen were shoved off their boat by smugglers as they approached the shore on Wednesday, leaving 29 dead and 22 others missing. The International Organization for Migration said shallow graves of those killed were found on a beach in Shabwa province, where they were buried by survivors. “The smugglers deliberately pushed the migrants into the waters since they feared that they would be arrested by the authorities once they reach the shore,” an IOM emergency officer told AFP. The smugglers then “simply went back to where they came from to pick more migrants and try to smuggle them into Yemen, again,” the officer said. The average age of those on board was 16, and many of those killed and missing were women and children, the organization said.