25 Ethiopian migrants missing off Yemen, forced into the sea

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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The United Nations migration agency says 25 Ethiopian migrants are missing off Yemen after being forced into the sea.

Director of operations and emergencies Mohammed Abdiker says in a Twitter post that people in the last of four boats carrying migrants were forced to swim to shore Thursday as they approached Yemen’s Shabwa province from Somalia.

International Organization for Migration figures show that some 87,000 people sought to reach war-torn Yemen from the Horn of Africa by boat in 2017.

U.N. agencies have attempted to discourage migrants from countries such as Ethiopia and Somalia from embarking on the perilous trip. But many are drawn to attempt the journey to rich Gulf countries beyond Yemen to find work.

Last month, a boat capsized off Yemen and killed at least 30 Africans.

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