UNHCR: 43,586 AFRICAN REFUGEES ARRIVED IN YEMEN SINCE BEGINNING OF

SANA'A, Sep. 17 (Saba)-United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) said 43,586 African refugees arrived in Yemen since the
beginning of 2009.

In its press release, the UN agency said that 273 refugees off Aden
Gulf coastline in the previous period of this year.

At least 16 Africans died, and 49 others are missing and presumed
dead, in three separate incidents as boats smuggling them from
Somalia to Yemen capsized in the Gulf of Aden on 13 and 14
September, the UN agency said.

According to the Yemeni official statistics, more than 800,000
Somali refugees are in Yemen. However, the UNHCR estimated number of
the refugees from Somalia at 160,000. The Yemeni government in
cooperation with the UNHCR set up centers to register refugees to
come out with unified statistics about number of the refugees in the
country.

AH