From ADANE BIKILA in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA – SOME 248 Ethiopian and Somali refugees and migrants have been repatriated from war-torn Yemen.

Among those rescued by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) are 56 children.

IOM has transported 132Ethiopians and 116 Somalis from Aden and Hudaydah cities in the Western Asian country.

For three years, the conflict in Yemen has been taking a toll on both Yemenis and migrants.

The country is also affected by famine and an outbreak of cholera that claimed the lives of 50 000 children in 2017.

The crises emanate from the Yemeni revolution that followed other Arab Spring mass protests in early 2011. The uprising was initially against unemployment, economic conditions and corruption.

Hudaydah, the port city, is among the regions worst affected by the resultant civil war.

“Despite the difficult environment in Hudaydah, IOM has been assisting migrants and the internally displaced population,” said Sarat Dash, IOM Chief of Mission in Yemen.

IOM has helped 615 stranded migrants return home from Yemen on IOM’s voluntary humanitarian return (VHR) programme so far in 2018.
– CAJ News