At least 30 African refugees and migrants drowned off the coast of Yemen this week in a boat heading towards Djibouti operated by smugglers who are reported to have fired on passengers, the United Nations said on Friday.
"Survivors of the incident have reported to UN and partner staff that an over-crowded boat packed with at least 152 Somalis and Ethiopians departed 23 January from the Al Buraiqa coast in Aden in a boat headed across the Gulf of Aden towards Djibouti," the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement. "The boat capsized amid reports of gunfire being used against the passengers."