The number of African migrants trapped in Yemen is rapidly escalating, with many suffering from horrific and violent abuse while they are trapped in the country, according to warnings from international aid groups and civil society organizations in Yemen. This situation has reached a crisis point, and it’s putting significant pressure on those trying to survive there.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) issued a statement this week highlighting the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Yemen, urging for immediate funding to support the “safe and voluntary return of migrants to their home countries.” This announcement came on the heels of several deadly boat trips from Djibouti, a critical hub for those fleeing the Horn of Africa and attempting to reach Saudi Arabia, one of the most popular destinations for migrants in the Arab world.
“As the flow of migrants continues to surge, the need for safe and humane return options for migrants has reached critical levels,” said Matt Huber, IOM’s acting chief of mission in Yemen. The IOM estimated that around 308,000 migrants are currently in Yemen.
Mohammed Al-Selwi, the executive director of Mwatana for Human Rights, a Yemeni human rights organization, said that most African migrants view Yemen as a transit stop but find themselves trapped there. “Here, they are subjected to horrifying and brutal violations by the feuding parties dividing Yemen,” he noted, listing forms of abuse such as murder, mutilation, forced disappearance, arbitrary detention, torture, and sexual violence. Human traffickers operating on both sides of Bab al-Mandab, the strait between Djibouti and Yemen, are also implicated in human rights violations.
One victim of this crisis is Ayan Ahmed, who was just 16 years old when fighting broke out in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray state between the government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Although her hometown, Harar, was far from the violence, it still impacted her life. Over the course of a year, she lost both parents due to illnesses that could have been treated, but the conflict crippled Ethiopia’s healthcare system. She then ended up living with relatives, who were members of the Oromo tribe, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group but a target of discrimination.
Poverty, unrest, and discrimination led Ahmed to trust smugglers who promised her a better life in Saudi Arabia. However, when she arrived in Djibouti, she and others were kidnapped, trapped and held for ransom by the smugglers. “These were the bleakest days of my life,” she recalled. “We were beaten, terrorized, and some women were even raped.”
According to IOM, the number of African migrants arriving in Yemen by boat rose to 97,210 in 2023, a substantial increase from previous years. These migrants, many of whom are Ethiopians, are vulnerable to human traffickers who exploit their desperation.
Ahmed spent five months enduring violence and hunger, only to be abandoned once she reached Yemen. “I saw people die because of starvation and abuse by people who promised us safety,” she said. Although her brother was able to pay a ransom to free her, her journey to Saudi Arabia never materialized. Instead, she now works at an Ethiopian restaurant in Aden, far from the dream she had hoped to achieve.
Yemen, already struggling with a civil war and a dire humanitarian crisis, is now home to nearly 4.5 million internally displaced people, with over half of its 33.7 million residents in need of humanitarian aid. The path from the Horn of Africa to Yemen is one of the most dangerous in the world, with Human Rights Watch documenting cases where Saudi border guards killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers trying to enter the country. These guards have been accused of using explosive weapons and shooting migrants at close range, indicating the extreme dangers faced by those trying to escape the horrors of Yemen and pursue a better life.
