(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency) United Nations Rabi'II 9 1437 January 19 2016 SPA --The U.N. refugee agency said Tuesday that more than 92000 people made the dangerous sea crossing from the Horn of Africa to Yemen last year one of the highest annual totals of the past decade despite Yemen's ongoing military conflict.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said two-thirds of the arrivals happened after March 2015 when the conflict in Yemen intensified. Most migrants are from Ethiopia or Somalia.
UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards said in Geneva that 95 people died during the crossings last year the second-highest figure recorded since 2006. In the first three weeks of 2016 36 people have drowned.
Edwards said 'many new arrivals are misinformed about the severity of the conflict' even though the U.N. agency has warned of the dangers they face in Yemen.
Along with 2.5 million Yemenis displaced by the conflict the country hosts 266000 refugees.
--SPA
03:44 LOCAL TIME 00:44 GMT
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