By AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press Writer
The bodies of nearly 50 Africans trying to immigrate washed up on Yemen’s shores Saturday after their boat capsized in the treacherous waters of the Gulf of Aden.
The 35 survivors told authorities in Yemen that at least 135 people, all Somalis and Ethiopians, were crammed into the rickety boat, indicating that dozens more may have lost their lives.
The search continued for more bodies along the beaches of Yemen’s Abyan province, said an official on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the press.
Hundreds of Africans die every year trying to reach Yemen, many of whom drown or are killed by pirates and smugglers in the dangerous waters separating Somalia and the Arabian peninsula.
The Africans that have survived the journey register with the U.N. refugee agency and stay in refugee camps in Yemen, while others take jobs in the cities as laborers for less than a $1 a day.
The wave of refugees to the poorest country in the Arab world shows no sign of abating as violence continues to rock Somalia, despite Ethiopia’s December 2006 intervention in the country to support the internationally recognized government.
In 2007, Yemeni authorities said about 5,000 illegal Ethiopian and Somali migrants arrived in Yemen, while nearly 400 died along the way. Out of 88,000 registered refugees in Yemen, about 84,000 are Somali, according to the UNHCR.
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