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About the report
The Horn of Africa and Yemen is one of the busiest and riskiest migration corridors in the world travelled by hundreds of thousands of migrants, the majority of whom travel in an irregular manner, often relying on smugglers to facilitate movement along the Eastern Corridor. This regional report provides monthly updates on the complex migratory dynamics through Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen based on diverse data sources and consultations with key informants in the four countries. Moreover, it provides information on the main protection concerns for migrants along the journey, a focus on children and information on the forced returns from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen.
Key findings:
- For the first time since January 2024 (210), almost 200 migrants arrived in Yemen from Djibouti, a point of departure that has seen greatly reduced flows since the start of the the joint military campaign targeting the coastline of Lahj aimed at impeding migrants arrivals.
- Although economic reasons remain the main migration driver along the Eastern Corridor, the number of movements tracked in Obock travelling towards the Arabian Peninsula due to conflict, violence or persecution almost tripled between April (456) and May (1,266).
- Return movements to Obock and Tadjourah from Yemen almost doubled (+97%, 1,240) in May, which underscores the significant challenges that migrants face in Yemen and the desperate circumstances that lead them to take the risky journey back to the Horn of Africa.
- In May, the highest number of people were forcibly returned from Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia in a single month (21,293) since July 2021 (31,911), and the second highest when records began in 2017.