The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Tuesday expressed concern about the recent arrests of African migrants in Aden of South Yemen, urging the local authorities to protect migrants regardless of their immigration status, nationality, race, or gender.
This call comes days after the flareup of a violent ethnic clash between Ethiopian migrants in Aden. The fighting left at least three migrants dead and 13 injured, creating a chaotic scene in the city. As the clash kept expanding, civilians in Aden demanded the evacuation of migrants to another place.
With support from civilians, the security forces in Aden began evacuating the African migrants from the neighborhoods and transported them outside the city.
A security source in Aden said the deadly fighting between the migrants began as a quarrel, escalating into violence and riot that caused severe damage to public and private property over the past two days.
Sheba Intelligence published a report on September 8, revealing that the ethnic clashes between Ethiopian migrants, Muslims and Christians, expanded in some areas of Aden and Lahj provinces in South Yemen.
Every year, thousands of Africans, including Ethiopians, travel to Yemen, seeking to cross to Saudi Arabia in pursuit of jobs. According to IOM, 77,000 African migrants have arrived in Yemen since the start of this year.