At least eight African migrants have died in makeshift camps in Yemen, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said Thursday (May 2nd), warning thousands were living under "inhumane conditions".
The IOM said it had learned of the deaths on Wednesday, and that most of the deceased were Ethiopian, AFP reported.
The eight migrants had died of complications related to acute watery diarrhea at the Ibn Khaldoon Hospital in Lahj, a southern district controlled by the Yemeni government.
"I am deeply saddened by the deaths of these eight migrants, who were among the thousands of migrants being held in deplorable conditions across Yemen," said Mohammed Abdiker, the IOM's director of operations and emergencies.
"I am greatly concerned that this dire situation will further deteriorate," he said.
Despite the ongoing war between the Yemeni government and the Iran-backed Houthis (Ansarallah), Yemen remains on an established route for migrants from the Horn of Africa.
Migrants typically first travel by land through Djibouti before eventually undergoing perilous boat journeys across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen. Many say they aim to travel by land to Saudi Arabia to find work.
But many do not even survive the journey, dying at sea or at the hands of panicked smugglers.
The IOM said an estimated 5,000 African migrants, mostly Ethiopian and some from Somalia, were currently being held in makeshift camps in Lahj, Abyan and Aden.
