Traffickers push up to 180 migrants into sea off Yemen: UN (Lead)

Geneva Aug 10 (IANS/AKI) Human traffickers forced up to 180 migrants from a boat off Yemen s coast on Thursday after some 50 migrants drowned in similar incident a day earlier the United Nations migration agency said.

Five bodies have been recovered while around 50 people were missing after the incident on Thursday the International Organisation for Migration reported.

On Wednesday traffickers pushed over 120 Somali and Ethiopian migrants into the Arabian Sea off Yemen s southern Shabwa governorate according to the IOM.

During a routine patrol of a beach in Shabwa IOM staff found the shallow graves of 29 of the migrants who drowned on Wednesday.

"The dead had been quickly buried by those who survived the smugglers deadly actions " IOM said.

The migrants had been hoping to reach countries in the Gulf via war-torn Yemen IOM reported.

--IANS/AKI
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