REPORTS REVEAL LOW NUMBER OF SOMALI REFUGEES IN YEMEN

SANA'A, April 24 (Saba) - Reports have revealed that there was a drop in the number of Somali refugees who arrived in Yemen over the first quarter of 2010 by about 40 percent compared with the same period in 2009, the almotamar.net has reported.

The reports referred this reduction in the number of Somali refugees to the security measures taken by the Yemeni security agencies in the coastal provinces.

The reports indicated that 2864 Somali refugees have infiltrated into the territories of Yemen during the last March, including more than a thousand women and dozens of children.

The Somali intruders, who arrived in Yemen last month, disembarked in the coast of Thubab in Taiz province, Brom coast in Hadramout, and the coast of Ahwar in Abyan province, the reports explained adding that unknown smuggling boats were sending the refugees to the coast and then fled.

The number of Somali refugees who sneaked into Yemen lands during the first quarter of this year amounted to about 9 thousand refugees, including about 3 thousand women and many children, the reports estimated.

There are more than a million Somali refugees in Yemen, which is a real burden on the country that faces this problem alone, except for a modest support provided by the International Refugee Organization, which is not commensurate with the size of the problem and the burden of Somali refugees in Yemen, the reports pointed out.

BA