puntland Criminals Smugglers send migrants overboard to drown

(CNN) -- Smugglers carrying a boatload of migrants forced their passengers to jump overboard in deep water off the coast of Yemen, causing up to 17 to drown, the United Nations said Tuesday. The 52 Somali and Ethiopian passengers in one of seven boats crossing the Gulf of Aden were made to jump after the smugglers spotted police and refused to sail closer to shore, the U.N's refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement. It said 35 people made it to land, six drowned and 11 others were missing presumed dead. Almost 10,000 people have made the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen this year. Forty-seven people have died, with 23 bodies buried and 24 missing at sea, the UNHCR said. Last year, more than 50,000 people crossed the gulf into Yemen. Many are fleeing the war in Somalia, but recent months have seen an increase in the number of refugees from Ethiopia. Yemen is a common destination for Somalis fleeing economic hardship and war because of its proximity. It is also an attractive location because Somalis receive automatic refugee status in the fellow Muslim country..more.. .http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/24/yemen.refugees/
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/feb/14/af-somalia-021409/

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