We don't usually hear much of variation in the narrative coming from Yemen these days. The Saudi-led coalition has been bombing areas across the country since March, while spates of brutal clashes between government loyalists and Shia Houthi rebels reek havoc on the ground.
But a report by the UN's refugee agency this week brings to light another phenomena in the war-torn country—despite the chaos, refugees from different, faraway conflicts are still reaching Yemeni shores by the tens of thousands.
The UNHCR says almost 70,000 refugees and asylum seekers mostly from Ethiopia and Somalia have arrived by sea this year—more than half of whom came after Saudi airstrikes began.
It may be hard to believe, but Yemen is chalk full of foreign refugees. UNHCR numbers tally 264,615 in the country, 250,260 of whom are Somali.
Their path is through a treacherous sea route between the Horn of Africa and Yemen. Eighty-eight people have died trying it so far this year. Over 10,000 arrived in September, according to the UNHCR, up 50 percent from August numbers.
Meanwhile, aid agencies report that the overwhelming majority of Yemen’s mounting death toll are civilians. On Tuesday, a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Saada was taken out by an airstrike. So, while refugees may still be arriving, the situation on the ground isn't getting any safer for anyone.
