Yemen - Flow Monitoring Registry | Non-Yemeni Migrant Arrivals and Yemeni Migrant Returnees in May 2024

OVERVIEW: The Flow Monitoring Registry (FMR) of the IOM Yemen Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) monitors the arrival of migrants along Yemen’s southern coastal border and the repatriation of Yemeni nationals along its northern border with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to identify various migration patterns and provide quantitative estimates of the irregular migrant population entering the country. It’s crucial to understand that the FMR does not capture all migration flows in Yemen; instead, it provides indicative insights into migration trends based on a known total number of migrants arriving at FMPs during a specific time frame.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS: In May 2024, the IOM Yemen DTM reported 1,685 migrants entering Yemen, a 14 per cent increase from the total figure reported in the previous month (1,479 migrants). Most migrants (90%) left from Bari Region in Somalia (1,510), while the remaining ten per cent left from Obock, Djibouti.

Among the total migrants recorded, 13 per cent were children, 26 per cent were women, and 62 per cent were men). Furthermore, 80 per cent of migrants stated that conflict was the primary reason encourage them for leaving their country of origin.

Typically, Lahj serves as an entry point for migrants departing through Djibouti whereas Shabwah serves as an entry point for migrants departing through Somalia. However, all migrants departed from Djibouti and Somalia in this reporting period arrived in coastal area of Shabwah Governorate due joint military campaign targeting the coastline of Lahj Governorate. The campaign aiming at reducing and stopping the arrival of migrants by intercepting boats and detaining smugglers. Since it started in August 2023, the campaign resulted a near-zero arrival of migrant flow through this route in the subsequent months with a single exception in December 2023 when boat transported 110 migrants ashore.

The DTM team identified 4,010 Yemeni returnees in May 2024, a 21 per cent decrease compared to the number of returnees in April (5,046 individuals). Additionally, the team recorded a total of 221 migrants that were deported from Oman back to Deifen Point in Shahan district of Al Maharah governorate, Yemen. All deported migrants from Oman were Ethiopian nationals.

The worsening humanitarian crisis in Yemen has compelled many migrants to make difficult decision to return to their home countries in the Horn of Africa, some have reportedly been deported by authorities. In May 2024, the DTM recorded a total of 750 migrants leaving Yemen either voluntarily or were deported by boat from Yemen. This group was composed of 90 per cent men, nine per cent women, and one per cent children.

Furthermore, in May 2024, the Djibouti DTM team reported a total of 1,240 migrants (91% men, 8% women, and 1% children) arrived in Djibouti from Yemen after undertaking a perilous journey back home. These figures underscore the significant challenges migrants in Yemen face and the desperate circumstances that have led them to risk dangerous sea voyages.