Over 120 Somalis evacuated from Yemen

Geneva, Nov 12 (IANS/AKI) The International Organisation for Migration have evacuated 127 Somalis fleeing the conflict in Yemen, including women and children, the IOM said on Friday.

The Somalis arrived in Berbera, Somaliland, from Sanaa, Yemen on a boat organised by IOM with financial support from Saudi Arabia's King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), IOM stated.

The successful operation was the first under $10 million KSrelief-funded project and paves the way for a further 2,500 Somali nationals stranded in Yemen to be evacuated over the next seven months, IOM said.

The Somalis will be evacuated by air to Mogadishu and by sea to Berbera under the project implemented by IOM and by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

Over 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen since a Saudi-led Arab coalition in March 2015 began bombing Shia Houthi rebels who overthrew president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and allied with parts of the Yemeni army have engaged in fighting with forces across the country that are nominally loyal to the exiled president.

International efforts to find a political solution to the war are at an impasse.

--IANS/AKI

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