from ADANE BIKILA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ethiopia Bureau
ADDIS ABABA, (CAJ News) – ABOUT 558 African migrants have died in 2024 as they attempted to cross the Red Sea into Europe in search of greener pastures, a United Nations (UN) agency for migration has said.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that the deceased died as a result of drowning while the 462 other migrants died due to shipwrecks.
In a statement, IOM said six major shipwrecks were recorded last year resulting in the death of migrants attempting to reach Europe or the Middle East blaming the overcrowded, unsea-worthy boats and poor maritime conditions.
IOM also blamed those that smuggle African migrants to Europe arguing they force hapless migrants to disembark in the middle of the sea.
Data from IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix show that in 2024, despite the life-threatening risks involved in the dangerous route, about 446,194 movements were documented from the Horn of Africa to countries in the Arabian Peninsula, marking a 13 percent increase from the previous year.
Although countries like Djibouti and Yemen coast guards have been providing tight security, it emerged that the migrants always found a way to sail through the Gulf of Aden route to Europe and the Middle East.
IOM states that the main reasons for migration were largely economic, conflict, violence and persecution of political activists.
IOM noted that among those that attempted to cross the sea to Europe or the Middle East were women and girls.
– CAJ News