Africans still heading to Yemen, 69 fresh arrests

SANA'A, March 01 (Saba) - Security
authorities have arrested 69 Africans including 8 women and 13 children, who entered
the
country illegally, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.
Among the arrested were 14 Sudanese including 4 children and 4 women arrested in
the western governorate of Hodeida and three Ethiopian men as well as 50 Somalis
including
9 children and 4 women. The Somalis were arrested in the eastern province of Hadramout.
They were gathered and handed to the UNHCR as a prelude to sent them to a temporary
refugee camp in Maifa'a, Shabwa, and then to the main refugee camp in Kharaz, Lahj.
People from the Horn of Africa countries continue to flee their ravaged countries
heading to Yemen, with the authorities saying the number of those who have already
arrived
in the country until last year is more 700.000 people, mainly coming from Somalia.
Few days ago, Yemen ordered to deport more than 150 African illegal migrants who
were disembarked by a smuggling boat in Hodeida.
Coastguard pursued the boat and seized it with the crew. The crew members were
turned over to interrogators.
Prior to this, Yemen said it had arrested more than 40 human trafficking suspects
amid intensified measures to prevent the infiltration from the African Horn.
Yemen has ordered security authorities in all coastal cities to close all waterways
to prevent possible infiltration of terrorists from Africa after Somalia's
al-Shabaab
Movement said it would send fighters to support al-Qaeda in the country.
Al-Shabaab's statement followed successful terror operations in north and south
Yemen in late 2009 in which scores of terrorist suspects were killed and arrested.
MB/FR