The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced that 6,273 Somali refugees have returned to their country from Yemen voluntarily since 2017.

The UNHCR added, in a statement yesterday, Sunday, that “on the last voyage, a boat carrying 150 Somali refugees left the port of Aden in southern Yemen last night, Saturday evening, and arrived in the Somali port of Berbera on Sunday.”

The statement indicated that voluntary returns form part of the UNHCR’s humanitarian return programme.

The statement pointed out that for the first time, 26 Somali refugees residing in the north of the country (areas under Houthi control) were helped to join that boat trip.

This program is facilitated by UNHCR in cooperation with partners in the humanitarian field and the authorities in Yemen and Somalia, according to the statement.

The statement stated that Yemen hosts the third largest number of Somali refugees, meaning about 65% of the more than 71,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR.