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YEMEN: UNHCR to build more shelters in
refugee camp
Source: IRIN
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SANAA, 26 November 2007 (IRIN) - The UN
Refugee Agency (UNHCR) will begin to construct new shelters for African refugees in Kharaz camp, 150km west of Aden, according to a senior UNHCR official. The project is funded by the European
Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).Saado Akram Qoul, head of the UNHCR office in Aden, told IRIN the project would initially comprise building 300 housing units and that it was scheduled to
be completed in six months' time at an estimated cost of about 800,000 euros. Quol said that in addition to the new housing units, classrooms would be built and new arrivals in the camp would be
given psychological support. "The facilities will address the needs of new arrivals, some of whom currently live in tents around the shelters," he added. According to Qoul, Kharaz camp is home to
around 9,000 refugees of whom about 650 are Ethiopians and the rest Somalis. "UNHCR, together with its partners, provide shelters, education, food, water, medical services, counselling and other
services to Kharaz camp residents," he said, adding that the services provided include essential non-food items, drugs and medical materials. Qoul explained that the numbers in the camp fluctuated:
Some Somalis had been able to return home with the help of the UNHCR, but right now there was a need for more shelters, he said. Latest incident On 21 November 65 African migrants, mostly from
Somalia, drowned in the Gulf of Aden when their boat reportedly capsized as they were trying to reach Yemeni waters. The Yemeni authorities managed to retrieve 50 bodies from the sea near Redhoum in
Shabwah Province and found another 15 bodies on the beach. According to Qoul, so far in 2007 about 23,000 migrants have arrived by sea from the Somali port of Bosasso. "Many engage the services of
smugglers to make the dangerous journey to Yemen. The trip has claimed the lives of hundreds of people so far," said Qoul. Yemen grants Somalis refugee status as soon as they arrive on its soil. The
country is party to the 1951 refugee convention and its 1967 Protocol. maj/ar/cb© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org
