38 Migrants Perish in Shipwreck off Djibouti Coast

Djibouti is a key route for African migrants seeking to enter the Gulf.

The United Nations migration agency says 38 migrants are dead and 22 others have been rescued from a shipwreck off 3 on a popular route to Yemen.

Rescue teams searched for six other migrants who were thought to be on board, the International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.

Djibouti is the main transit country for migrants trying to reach Gulf nations from Horn of Africa nations such as Ethiopia and Somalia in search of work.

Tens of thousands use the route every year.

According to the IOM, the route is dangerous because traffickers target migrants and can subject them to kidnapping, arbitrary arrest, and forced recruitment into warring groups, particularly in Yemen.

FRCN