At least 76 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP on Monday.
Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people have been rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The U.N.’s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said 157 people were on board.
The accident occurred off the Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states.
Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen’s Aden, near Abyan, a security official said.
The IOM earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead.
Perilous journey for migrants seeking jobs
Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia, which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict.
Each year, thousands brave the so-called “Eastern Route” from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and finding work.
Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing in shipwrecks off Yemen in recent months, The Associated Press finds out.
The IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route last year, 462 of them from boat accidents.
Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers forced migrants to disembark from a boat in the Red Sea, according to the IOM.
The vessel that sank off Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province’s security directorate and an IOM source.
Yemeni security forces were conducting operations to recover a “significant” number of bodies, the Abyan directorate said on Sunday.
On their way to the Gulf, migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea that is a major route for international trade, as well as for migration — and human trafficking.
Once in war-torn Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, migrants often face other threats to their safety.
The IOM says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys.
At least 76 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP on Monday.
Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people have been rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The U.N.’s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said 157 people were on board.
The accident occurred off the Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states.
Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen’s Aden, near Abyan, a security official said.
The IOM earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead.
Perilous journey for migrants seeking jobs
Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia, which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict.
Each year, thousands brave the so-called “Eastern Route” from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and finding work.
Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing in shipwrecks off Yemen in recent months, The Associated Press finds out.
The IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route last year, 462 of them from boat accidents.
Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers forced migrants to disembark from a boat in the Red Sea, according to the IOM.
The vessel that sank off Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province’s security directorate and an IOM source.
Yemeni security forces were conducting operations to recover a “significant” number of bodies, the Abyan directorate said on Sunday.
On their way to the Gulf, migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea that is a major route for international trade, as well as for migration — and human trafficking.
Once in war-torn Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, migrants often face other threats to their safety.
The IOM says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys.
At least 76 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP on Monday.
Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people have been rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The U.N.’s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said 157 people were on board.
The accident occurred off the Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states.
Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen’s Aden, near Abyan, a security official said.
The IOM earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead.
Perilous journey for migrants seeking jobs
Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia, which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict.
Each year, thousands brave the so-called “Eastern Route” from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and finding work.
Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing in shipwrecks off Yemen in recent months, The Associated Press finds out.
The IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route last year, 462 of them from boat accidents.
Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers forced migrants to disembark from a boat in the Red Sea, according to the IOM.
The vessel that sank off Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province’s security directorate and an IOM source.
Yemeni security forces were conducting operations to recover a “significant” number of bodies, the Abyan directorate said on Sunday.
On their way to the Gulf, migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea that is a major route for international trade, as well as for migration — and human trafficking.
Once in war-torn Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, migrants often face other threats to their safety.
The IOM says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys.
At least 76 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP on Monday.
Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people have been rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The U.N.’s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said 157 people were on board.
The accident occurred off the Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states.
Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen’s Aden, near Abyan, a security official said.
The IOM earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead.
Perilous journey for migrants seeking jobs
Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia, which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict.
Each year, thousands brave the so-called “Eastern Route” from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and finding work.
Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing in shipwrecks off Yemen in recent months, The Associated Press finds out.
The IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route last year, 462 of them from boat accidents.
Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers forced migrants to disembark from a boat in the Red Sea, according to the IOM.
The vessel that sank off Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province’s security directorate and an IOM source.
Yemeni security forces were conducting operations to recover a “significant” number of bodies, the Abyan directorate said on Sunday.
On their way to the Gulf, migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea that is a major route for international trade, as well as for migration — and human trafficking.
Once in war-torn Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, migrants often face other threats to their safety.
The IOM says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys.
At least 76 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP on Monday.
Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people have been rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The U.N.’s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said 157 people were on board.
The accident occurred off the Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states.
Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen’s Aden, near Abyan, a security official said.
The IOM earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead.
Perilous journey for migrants seeking jobs
Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia, which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict.
Each year, thousands brave the so-called “Eastern Route” from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and finding work.
Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing in shipwrecks off Yemen in recent months, The Associated Press finds out.
The IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route last year, 462 of them from boat accidents.
Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers forced migrants to disembark from a boat in the Red Sea, according to the IOM.
The vessel that sank off Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province’s security directorate and an IOM source.
Yemeni security forces were conducting operations to recover a “significant” number of bodies, the Abyan directorate said on Sunday.
On their way to the Gulf, migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea that is a major route for international trade, as well as for migration — and human trafficking.
Once in war-torn Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, migrants often face other threats to their safety.
The IOM says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys.
At least 76 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP on Monday.
Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people have been rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The U.N.’s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said 157 people were on board.
The accident occurred off the Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states.
Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen’s Aden, near Abyan, a security official said.
The IOM earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead.
Perilous journey for migrants seeking jobs
Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia, which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict.
Each year, thousands brave the so-called “Eastern Route” from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and finding work.
Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing in shipwrecks off Yemen in recent months, The Associated Press finds out.
The IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route last year, 462 of them from boat accidents.
Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers forced migrants to disembark from a boat in the Red Sea, according to the IOM.
The vessel that sank off Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province’s security directorate and an IOM source.
Yemeni security forces were conducting operations to recover a “significant” number of bodies, the Abyan directorate said on Sunday.
On their way to the Gulf, migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea that is a major route for international trade, as well as for migration — and human trafficking.
Once in war-torn Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, migrants often face other threats to their safety.
The IOM says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys.
At least 76 people have been killed and dozens are missing after a boat carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants sank off Yemen in the latest tragedy on the perilous sea route, officials told AFP on Monday.
Yemeni security officials said 76 bodies had been recovered and 32 people have been rescued from the shipwreck in the Gulf of Aden. The U.N.’s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said 157 people were on board.
The accident occurred off the Abyan governorate in southern Yemen, a frequent destination for boats smuggling African migrants hoping to reach the wealthy Gulf states.
Some of those rescued have been transferred to Yemen’s Aden, near Abyan, a security official said.
The IOM earlier gave a toll of at least 68 dead.
Perilous journey for migrants seeking jobs
Despite the civil war that has ravaged Yemen since 2014, the impoverished country has remained a key transit point for irregular migration, in particular from Ethiopia, which itself has been roiled by ethnic conflict.
Each year, thousands brave the so-called “Eastern Route” from Djibouti to Yemen across the Red Sea, in the hope of eventually reaching oil-rich Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and finding work.
Hundreds of migrants have died or gone missing in shipwrecks off Yemen in recent months, The Associated Press finds out.
The IOM recorded at least 558 deaths on the Red Sea route last year, 462 of them from boat accidents.
Last month, at least eight people died after smugglers forced migrants to disembark from a boat in the Red Sea, according to the IOM.
The vessel that sank off Abyan was carrying mostly Ethiopian migrants, according to the province’s security directorate and an IOM source.
Yemeni security forces were conducting operations to recover a “significant” number of bodies, the Abyan directorate said on Sunday.
On their way to the Gulf, migrants cross the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Red Sea that is a major route for international trade, as well as for migration — and human trafficking.
Once in war-torn Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, migrants often face other threats to their safety.
The IOM says tens of thousands of migrants have become stranded in Yemen and suffer abuse and exploitation during their journeys.
A White South African farm owner and two employees are facing trial over the alleged murder of two Black women who prosecutors say were shot dead for trespassing last August and their bodies fed to pigs – stoking fury in a nation already reeling from racial tensions.
The women were said to have been killed by Zachariah Olivier, 60, and his workers, Adrian De Wet, 19, and 45-year-old foreign national William Musoro.
The men appeared at the Limpopo Polokwane High Court on Monday, in the northern Limpopo province, a regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa (NPA) told CNN.
The trio “are facing two counts of murder, attempted murder, three counts of defeating the ends of justice, and possession of firearms and ammunition,” the NPA said in an earlier statement.
Musoro, described by police as “an illegal immigrant,” was additionally charged with “contravening sections of the illegal immigration act,” a police statement said.
They were not asked to enter a plea before the hearing was shifted to Thursday, NPA spokesperson in Limpopo, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said.
The men were arrested after police investigations led to the discovery of the decomposed bodies of the women “in a pigsty on a farm in Sebayeng, outside Mankweng,” on August 20, 2024, the police statement said at the time.
“The investigation began when a 45-year-old South African woman went missing after visiting the farm on 17 August (2024), accompanied by a 35-year-old foreign national woman,” police said. “Both women sustained gunshot wounds, and a 47-year-old foreign national man, who was with them” escaped but “was also shot and hospitalized.”
The survivor told reporters that one of the murdered women was his wife. The other woman was their neighbor. They had entered the farm to collect expired and abandoned dairy products, he said.
Many South Africans outraged by the killings have called for justice for the victims.
Similar murders have been recorded in South Africa in recent years. In Mpumalanga, in the country’s east, four men, including a 24-year-old farm manager, are facing charges of murder and kidnapping for allegedly killing and burning the bodies of three people accused of stealing sheep last August, the NPA said.
In 2019, a South African High Court handed down lengthy prison sentences to two White farmers for throwing a 16-year-old teenager out of a moving truck in Coligny, in the North West Province, for allegedly stealing sunflowers. The men were, however, acquitted two years later by a higher court, which overturned their sentencing, citing a lack of evidence.
Violent crime is rife in the southern African nation of just over 60 million people, where nearly 20,000 murders were recorded between April and December last year, according to police data.
Farm murders, involving both White and Black South Africans, make up a small part, about 0.2% of those killings, even though White nationalist groups make widely disputed claims of a genocide against White farmers.
A White South African farm owner and two employees are facing trial over the alleged murder of two Black women who prosecutors say were shot dead for trespassing last August and their bodies fed to pigs – stoking fury in a nation already reeling from racial tensions.
The women were said to have been killed by Zachariah Olivier, 60, and his workers, Adrian De Wet, 19, and 45-year-old foreign national William Musoro.
The men appeared at the Limpopo Polokwane High Court on Monday, in the northern Limpopo province, a regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa (NPA) told CNN.
The trio “are facing two counts of murder, attempted murder, three counts of defeating the ends of justice, and possession of firearms and ammunition,” the NPA said in an earlier statement.
Musoro, described by police as “an illegal immigrant,” was additionally charged with “contravening sections of the illegal immigration act,” a police statement said.
They were not asked to enter a plea before the hearing was shifted to Thursday, NPA spokesperson in Limpopo, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said.
The men were arrested after police investigations led to the discovery of the decomposed bodies of the women “in a pigsty on a farm in Sebayeng, outside Mankweng,” on August 20, 2024, the police statement said at the time.
“The investigation began when a 45-year-old South African woman went missing after visiting the farm on 17 August (2024), accompanied by a 35-year-old foreign national woman,” police said. “Both women sustained gunshot wounds, and a 47-year-old foreign national man, who was with them” escaped but “was also shot and hospitalized.”
The survivor told reporters that one of the murdered women was his wife. The other woman was their neighbor. They had entered the farm to collect expired and abandoned dairy products, he said.
Many South Africans outraged by the killings have called for justice for the victims.
Similar murders have been recorded in South Africa in recent years. In Mpumalanga, in the country’s east, four men, including a 24-year-old farm manager, are facing charges of murder and kidnapping for allegedly killing and burning the bodies of three people accused of stealing sheep last August, the NPA said.
In 2019, a South African High Court handed down lengthy prison sentences to two White farmers for throwing a 16-year-old teenager out of a moving truck in Coligny, in the North West Province, for allegedly stealing sunflowers. The men were, however, acquitted two years later by a higher court, which overturned their sentencing, citing a lack of evidence.
Violent crime is rife in the southern African nation of just over 60 million people, where nearly 20,000 murders were recorded between April and December last year, according to police data.
Farm murders, involving both White and Black South Africans, make up a small part, about 0.2% of those killings, even though White nationalist groups make widely disputed claims of a genocide against White farmers.
