IOM is poised to finish the construction of 7,500 emergency
shelters at IFO 2 extension by the 30th September, the deadline set
for completing such work.

The group of 3,000 migrants, who have registered with IOM to be
evacuated, are among an estimated 12,000 migrants in the
northwestern Yemen-Saudi border area.

The majority of the migrants arrived in the border town of
Haradh hungry, ill or exhausted by their long trek north towards
Saudi Arabia after having survived the perils of their journey
across the Horn of Africa, the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea and a
conflict-ridden Yemen.

Unable to continue their journey into the Gulf countries due to
tightened border controls by the Saudi authorities or to return
home without any resources, migrants arriving from the Horn
frequently find themselves in Haradh without adequate food, shelter
and water and are dependent on humanitarian assistance.

About 1,500 migrants are currently receiving meals daily from an
IOM feeding centre supported by the World Food Programme (WFP).

Each month, an IOM clinic in Haradh treats an average of 600
migrants with the Organization also providing accommodation to
about 200 migrants in need of special protection. Many of the women
and girls among the group have been identified as victims of
trafficking.

Having endured this situation for long periods of time,
frustration is growing among the stranded Ethiopian migrants in
Haradh.

On Monday, dozens of migrants vented their anger in front of the
IOM departure centre in Haradh, demanding to be returned home to
Ethiopia, resulting in the arrest of 13 people by authorities for
inciting violence.

"This is an extremely difficult situation. Many of the migrants
are in danger from violence and intimidation from smugglers. We've
had bodies of migrants thrown into the IOM compound – killed
by smugglers or in accidents for which the perpetrators are rarely
held accountable. Their anger and frustration is understandable.
They want to go home. IOM wants to be able to do more to help and
evacuate them from the country, but we simply don’t have the
money to carry out an operation of this scale," says Nicoletta
Giordano, IOM Chief of Mission in Yemen.

"While we appreciate all the support we have had this past 10
months, we urge donors to provide some USD 2.5 million so that IOM
can assist all those who need help. At the moment, we are forced to
prioritize the extremely vulnerable, limiting our assistance to a
few people at a time to return home."

The situation has become further complicated by the on-going
violence in the country, making the airport road impassable and the
difficulties in scheduling flights out of the airport.

However, since it began a humanitarian evacuation operation for
migrants stranded in Haradh late last year, IOM has assisted over
5,000 irregular Ethiopian migrants to return home.

Yemen has long been a major transit point for irregular
migration flows from the Horn of Africa to the Gulf countries and
beyond. The crisis in Yemen has led to large numbers of Ethiopian
migrants and Somali asylum-seekers arriving on its shores as human
smugglers take advantage of the political instability in the
country.

More than 45,000 Ethiopian irregular migrants have arrived in
Yemen so far this year, in addition to over 15,000 Somalis,
bringing the total arrivals for the first half of 2011 to above
60,000, according to UNHCR.

Of these, an estimated 15,000 have managed to reach Haradh.

For more information, please contact:

IOM Yemen’s Emergency and Post-Crisis Unit

Tel: +967 1 410 568/572

E-mail: "mailto:jszabo@iom.int">jszabo@iom.int