Local Editor
The United Nations has helped nearly 4,300 Somali refugees leave conflict-torn Yemen and return home since it launched a humanitarian repatriation initiative in 2017, UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson Babar Baloch said on Friday.
"Almost 4,300 Somali refugees have now returned home from Yemen, since the roll-out in 2017 of an Assisted Spontaneous Return (ASR) program, facilitated by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in cooperation with humanitarian partners and authorities in Yemen and Somalia," Baloch said.
The most recent repatriation took place on Wednesday, with UNHCR helping 125 Somali refugees, including men, women and children, leave Yemen.
Baloch noted that civilians in Yemen face life-threatening conditions, adding that the situation for migrants and refugees in the country has "deteriorated significantly."
Yemen hosts the world's third largest Somali refugee population - 250,000 people- and they account for 90 percent of Yemen's refugee and asylum-seeker population, Baloch said.
"In addition to the dangers posed by conflict many refugees now face increased hardship, lack access to basic services and struggle to cover basic needs and sustain themselves given the limited work and economic opportunities," Baloch added. "As a result, an increasing number of refugees have been approaching UNHCR for help in returning home, citing safety and security concerns and limited access to services."
Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between forces led by former President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi and Yemen’s popular Houthi movement for several years. A Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. The conflict has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
