Vatican newspaper highlights suffering of Ethiopians who are fleeing for Yemen

May 01, 2026

In the most prominent front-page article in its April 30 edition, L’Osservatore Romano drew attention to the plight of Ethiopians who are fleeing their strife-torn nation for Yemen via Djibouti (map).

“Drawn faces, emaciated bodies,” Giada Aquilino reported. “A group of men traverses the vast, sun-scorched sandy plain of Djibouti. They are migrants, and what they share in common amounts to few possessions—a small bottle of water, a few bundles—and a failed attempt to reach Yemen via the so-called ‘Eastern Route.’“

“It remains one of the most dangerous migratory routes in the world: according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), in 2025, more than 900 migrants died or went missing—marking the grim record for the deadliest year ever recorded along this trajectory,” Aquilino continued, as she cited an Agence France-Presse article. “Nevertheless, between 200 and 300 migrants continue to arrive in Obock daily to attempt yet another ‘journey of hope,’ paying human traffickers the equivalent of hundreds of euros.”

 

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Further information:

• Un’altra rotta mortale tra deserto e mare (L'Osservatore Romano, 4/30/26)
• Starvation and drowning on the deadly Horn of Africa migrant route (AFP, 4/29/26)