Yemen fired on refugees, says UN

The UN's refugee agency says Yemeni security forces opened fire on a boat crossing the Gulf of Aden, killing two people, and has expressed deep concern.

The incident took place as the vessel, bringing about 120 people from Ethiopia and Somalia, reached the Yemeni shore on Monday, the UNHCR said.

The Yemeni authorities confirmed there had been a shooting incident, it said.

Yemeni authorities have recorded the arrival of almost 23,000 refugees since September, according to the UNHCR.

The UN estimates that at least 360 people have died making the dangerous journey from Somalia, with a further 150 people reported missing.

Agency's plea

People who were in Monday's boat, which had left Puntland in Somalia two days earlier, told UNHCR staff in Yemen that one Somali passenger and a smuggler had been killed by gunfire.

The boat headed back out to sea and the remaining passengers were dropped further along the coast, they said.

"We are extremely concerned about this incident, where innocent civilians got hurt," said Radhouane Noucier, the UNHCR's deputy director for the region.

He said the agency had now asked the Yemeni authorities "to refrain from shooting at arriving boats".

Many of the thousands of Somalis and Ethiopians who try to cross the Gulf of Aden each year hope to reach Europe.

There are currently more than 88,000 registered refugees in Yemen, according to the UNHCR, 84,000 of whom are Somalis.