The authorities of the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland have vowed to end the activities of the notorious human traffickers based in the region.
The governor of the coastal Bari region where the human traffickers load thousands of desperate African migrants through the Gulf of Aden said in a press conference on Thursday that his administration was committed to ending the perilous trip which risks the lives of tens of thousands each year.
“Our forces have long in the past been fighting against human trafficking and now we are committed to redoubling our efforts so that we can put to an end the adventure trip from Somalia to Yemen through the Gulf of Aden where thousands die every year,” the governor Muse Guelle Yusuf told reporters in the city of Bosasso on Thursday.
Earlier this month, the United Nations said in its latest report that over 63, 000 people have crossed into Yemen since January 2009 with 467 others still missing and are assumed to have died during the perilous trip across the Red Sea.
There has been a big increase compared to 2008 when 50,000 desperate people were said to have crossed into Yemen with 1,000 dying in the process.
Experts say that because of the endless armed conflicts in Somalia since 1991 and the insecurity which is deteriorating day by day, the number of people running from Somalia continues to increase.
Source African Press Agency
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