Bosaso, Somalia – At least 11 migrants have died, and another 20 have been injured in a deadly road accident in Bosaso, Somalia. 
                                                                                                                               
The migrants, all believed to be Ethiopian, were being transported by people smugglers, when the vehicle they were traveling in overturned, causing the fatalities and injuries. Local people helped to bring 11 corpses and over 20 seriously injured migrants to Bosaso General Hospital. which is now treating the survivors, but the number affected is beyond the hospital’s capacity. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Somalia is trying to provide help to the hospital to treat the victims. 
 
"We have sent medical supplies we had in stock at the Migrant Response Centre (MRC) in Bosaso, and our teams are providing physiological support to those injured," said Frantz Celestin, IOM Somalia Chief of Mission.
 
It’s thought the migrants were traveling from Bosaso with the intention of crossing the Gulf of Aden to reach Yemen to find work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, along what is known as the ‘Eastern Route’ – which runs from the Horn of Africa to Yemen’. Over 441,000 movements were tracked mainly from Ethiopia and Somalia took the route in 2022. These included women with newborns, minors as young as 13, and unaccompanied children.  

IOM’s Missing Migrants Project registered over 1,000 Ethiopian migrants who are believed to have died or disappeared on the ‘Eastern Route’ since 2019. The numbers of people affected is likely much higher, as limited access and funding constraints mean that many migrant deaths go unrecorded.

Migrants are often targeted and transported by smugglers on the route who charge exorbitant fees of up to $1,000 US dollars to move them to the Gulf – where they promise them jobs and opportunities.  On the journey they also risk torture, enslavement, kidnapping, starvation, and rape.  
 
Despite these life-threatening dangers, the number of migrants taking the Eastern Route is on the rise. IOM recorded 21,469 migrants entering Yemen between January and February of this year, compared to 14,298 in the same period last year. An estimated 27 per cent of them travelled through or from Somalia. With the number of migrants and humanitarian needs increasing, IOM and its partners are facing a massive funding gap. More than $84 million dollars is needed by IOM and its partners to meet the needs of over 1 million migrants and host community. The Migrant Response Centres (MRCs) dotted along the route which provide basic lifesaving assistance, including food, water, shelter, medical care, and mental and psycho-social support are facing the threat of closure if funds are not found.

“This latest tragedy is another reminder ongoing crisis facing migrants on the ‘Eastern Route’. There could be many similar tragedies taking place and people dying that go un-reported. Emergency response, and humanitarian assistance is needed on a very large scale. On and its partners through the Migrant Response Plan for the Horn of Africa and Yemen is working with the governments in the region to respond but is appealing to the donor community to provide the urgently needed funds to help.”

Contact: Eva Sibanda, Migrant Response Plan Communications Officer
IOM Regional Office for the Horn of Africa and Yemen
esibanda@iom.int