Local sources and residents reported on Monday, June 10, 2024, that dozens of African migrants died after their boat capsized off the coast of Shabwah governorate (eastern Yemen).

According to the local platform "Manbar Shabwah," the boat carrying the African migrants capsized off the coast of the "Ain Bamabd" area in the "Radhum" district, south of Shabwah governorate.

Activists on social media circulated images of bodies loaded onto a truck, claiming they belonged to the African migrants who drowned earlier that morning.

On March 21, six bodies were found washed ashore in the al-Khokha area of Hodeidah governorate (western Yemen), belonging to migrants from the Horn of Africa whose boat had sunk at sea.

According to statistics from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number of African migrants in Yemen has tripled compared to the past three years.

IOM monthly data indicates that 5,411 African migrants entered Yemen between January and March 2024, nearly equaling the number of arrivals during the same period in 2021, which recorded only 5,113 migrants.

In February, the IOM stated that the coast of Shabwah governorate has become a primary point for the transit of thousands of illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa.

In a report on migration tracking, the IOM highlighted that the number of African migrants who arrived in January reached 1,737 illegal migrants, representing an 11% increase through the coastal areas of Bir Ali and Ain Bamabd in the governorate.