BOAT SINKING OFF DJIBOUTI KILLS 109 MIGRANTS, UN SAYS

A boat carrying around 350 migrants from Djibouti to Yemen capsized near Guhere, north of the port town of Obock, on the evening of 8 October, the International Organisation for Migration said. The UN agency reported that at least 109 people died, including 15 children, while more than 116 remain missing. More than 80 people survived the sinking, all of them Ethiopian nationals, according to the IOM's account based on survivor testimony. A spokesperson for the Ethiopian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Alexandre Coissac, the IOM's chief of mission in Djibouti, described the sinking as a devastating loss of life and said the organisation's thoughts were with survivors and with families who lost relatives or remain without news of them. He said IOM teams were working alongside local authorities on the ground to provide emergency assistance to those affected. The route between Djibouti and Yemen forms part of a wider migration corridor used by people, in the IOM's words, seeking economic opportunities. The agency did not immediately detail the nationalities of those still missing beyond confirming that survivors were Ethiopian.

Coissac said the shipwreck served as a reminder of the dangers faced by migrants travelling along the corridor. The IOM said its emergency response alongside Djibouti's local authorities was ongoing at the time of its statement. No further details on the cause of the capsizing were given in the agency's report. The organisation indicated that efforts to account for those still missing continued, though it gave no timeframe for when a fuller picture of the death toll might emerge.