Although hundreds of thousands of Africans are still choosing to migrate along the so-called "Eastern Route" between the Horn of Africa and the Gulf States via Yemen, a growing number are giving up on their dream and going back home. A new report by IOM Nairobi found that many migrants who set off were largely unaware of the migration risks prior to departure.
The IOM said on Sunday that there are at least "8 migrants dead and 12 are missing at sea" after being forced off a boat by smugglers off the coast of Djibouti. The migrants were traveling from Yemen, the UN organization added.
52 people rescued from the Mediterranean on Saturday remain stranded on a livestock transport ship, MV Talia. Both Italy and Malta have denied them permission to disembark.
Lebanon is providing temporary shelter for a group of Ethiopian domestic workers abandoned by their employers. It will repatriate some of them, but COVID-19 quarantine measures mean the pressures of returning home are likely to be even greater.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said that 6,413 migrants and refugees have reached Europe by sea in 2019 as of February 3. A total of 208 were reported to have died during the crossing over the same period.
Many girls and women in Africa suffer from the effects of female genital mutilation (FGM), although it is banned in several countries. Doctors on the ground and in Germany provide medical and psychological help.
The UN migration agency IOM has over the past week taken 233 Ethiopian migrants out of Yemen on two trips via sea with the aim of returning them to their countries of origin.