SOMALIA: Puntland police capture hundreds of refugees bound for Yemen

Puntland's coastguard has captured a smuggler's boat carrying 250 Somali and Ethiopian refugees. Puntland's Bossaso port has become a favoured base for people from the Horn of Africa trying to seek a better life in the Middle East. Puntland's coastguard have seized a boat carrying 250 people trying to get to Yemen. According to the police, the passengers are mainly Ethiopian and Somali nationals trying to enter Yemen illegally. Insecurity, economic disparities, and political tensions have caused thousands of people to flee the Horn of Africa looking for a better life across the Persian Gulf. Puntland declared independence from Somalia in August 1998 after efforts aimed at national reconciliation failed. Puntland's Bossaso port is only 20 hours away from the Yemeni Port by boat. Bossaso has become a base for smugglers who are willing to ferry passengers across. But the smugglers often use poorly-maintained boats which they also overload. Hundreds of people have died after their boats capsized during the crossing. Many of those who do make it to Yemen then try to get to Saudi Arabia where they hope to find jobs. Puntland's coastguard police began cracking down on smugglers after acquiring two new patrol boats early this year. "This boat departed from Bossaso going to Yemen with 250 people on board. We got information that there were people being smuggled into yemen. The people on board are mainly Somalis and Ethiopians and this is the third time we have captured the same boat smuggling people into Yemen," said Abdullahi Waberi, the Puntland coastguard chief. The suspected smugglers were taken to the Bossaso police station and will be held for further questioning before being taken to court.

ITN Source | July 14, 2007

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