1000 Ethiopian Refugees Held Hostage in Yemen

By Gubae Gundarta

The International Refugee Organization said 1000 Ethiopian refugees have been held up on the border between Saudi Arabia and Yemen where they could not have access to food, shelter and clothing. The refugees were detained there while they were trying to enter Saudi Arabia illegally.

The spokesperson of the organization, Jean-Philippe Chauzy pointed out that the Ethiopian refugees were restrained after a harrowingly crossing the Gulf of Aden to move into Saudi Arabian territories. Chauzy said, “We need one million dollars to rescue these and other 2000 more Ethiopian refugees who are already in Hidrah, Southern Yemen.” The money is needed to either send them back home or facilitate conditions to hand them over to other countries that are willing to accommodate them.

Yemen has been serving as a passageway for Africans who illegally enter the Middle East by crossing over the Red Sea. Most of these immigrants often face dire conditions including severe lack of food as the result of which they become terribly emaciated.

NewsDire Staff Writer