Yemen has been suffering for eight years due to the war sparked by the Houthi militia, displacing over four million people internally. It is still considered the most critical crossing point for migrants from the Horn of Africa.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and 47 partners revealed in the Regional Migrant Response Plan for the Horn of Africa and Yemen framework that more than one million immigrants crossed the Eastern Route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen.
The report described Yemen as "one of the busiest, most complex, and dangerous migratory routes."
The organizations stated that over the past year, the number of migrants who entered Djibouti almost doubled compared to the previous year.
"In the same year, 89 migrant deaths or disappearances were recorded along the route due to hazardous transportation, illness, harsh environmental conditions, drowning at sea, and violence. Many more deaths and disappearances go unreported."
The report stated that every year, “thousands of migrants leave their countries in the Horn of Africa and move along the Eastern route towards Gulf countries. In their migration, most migrants cross the Red Sea through Bosaso in Somalia, and Djibouti's coastal town of Obock to Yemen and further by land to Gulf countries."
IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino said that the Eastern Route was an underserved crisis easily forgotten amidst other global concerns, asserting that the migrants must receive the support and dignity they deserve.
"The Regional Migrant Response Plan was conceptualized to address the vast and complex challenges on this route and to do so in a coherent and coordinated manner," stated Vitorino.
He noted that the plan provided a flexible mechanism for all stakeholders to respond to evolving migration trends and broader humanitarian and development challenges affecting migrants, host communities, and the respective governments./Alsharq Al-Awsat.