Barran Press
The United Nations has accused the Houthi group, internationally designated as a terrorist organization, of subjecting African migrants to various forms of abuse before forcibly displacing them to areas controlled by the Yemeni government.
According to a recent report on humanitarian developments, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Yemen revealed that 1,860 migrants died or went missing along the route from the Horn of Africa to Yemen this year.
The report stated that the Houthis in Sana'a and Saada governorates have deported thousands of African migrants to Aden, the temporary capital of the internationally recognized government.
The UN report emphasized that migrants are subjected to detention and human rights violations in Houthi-controlled areas before being forced to leave for government-controlled territories.
In recent times, according to the UN office, the number of African migrants forcibly deported from Houthi-controlled areas to Aden has increased. There are approximately 5,000 stranded migrants in these areas.
The report highlighted that the number of stranded African migrants in Yemen has recently risen, with over 14,000 individuals in three government-controlled governorates. This includes 5,000 in Aden, 4,500 in Marib, and a similar number in Shabwa. These migrants require humanitarian assistance and are awaiting safe repatriation to their home countries.
The Houthis have conducted consecutive campaigns to deport African migrants from their controlled areas to government-controlled regions, following a fire in a detention center that resulted in the deaths of dozens.
Yemeni government sources claim that the Houthis force migrants to choose between joining their ranks as fighters or being forcibly deported to government-controlled areas. These migrants are then crammed into animal transport trucks and dumped on the outskirts of government-controlled regions, facing dire humanitarian conditions.
Despite the ongoing conflict in Yemen, thousands of migrants continue to cross the border into Yemen, hoping to reach Gulf countries. In the first half of this year, the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) observed the arrival of over 10,300 migrants in Yemen, a decrease of 87% compared to the same period in 2023.