32 Yemenis Seek Refuge İn Somalia

At least 32 Yemenis have risked a 12-hour sea voyage across the Red Sea to seek refuge in Somalia, fleeing ongoing military confrontations in their home country.



"Most of the refugees that we have received are from Taizz," Mohamed Egal, an official of the Somaliland region, told The Anadolu Agency on Monday, speaking from the port city of Berbera.



"They include women, elderly people and children," he said.



The city of Taizz is the capital of Yemen's central Taizz province near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.



It is under the control of the Shiite Houthi militant group.



Since last Wednesday, Saudi Arabia and its allies have been pounding Houthi positions in crisis-hit Yemen.



Riyadh says the strikes are in response to Yemeni President ABD Rabbuh Mansour Hadi's appeals to "save the [Yemeni] people from the Houthi militias."



Some Gulf countries accuse Shiite Iran of supporting the Houthi insurgency.



"We have contacted the UNHCR for their registration and other aid agencies for the supply of basics," said Egal. "We expect more arrivals."



The arrival of Yemeni refugees has been viewed by some as ironic, given that Somalia remains a country at war.



"In the two decades of war in Somalia, it is the Somalis who risked their lives by crossing the Gulf of Aden to seek refuge in Yemen," noted Hashim Ali, who works at a Hargeysa-based humanitarian organization.



"Today, we are preparing to host our Yemeni brothers and sisters," he told AA. "I believe more are on their way."



Neighboring Djibouti has also reported the arrival of Yemeni refugees fleeing the fighting in their country.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Banaadir