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7 thousand violations in two years.. Yemeni fishermen under the tyranny of the Eritrean forces

English - Wednesday 14 June 2023 الساعة 04:50 pm

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Hodeidah, NewsYemen, exclusive:

The fisherman, Malik Gerad, from Al-Khawkha, south of Al-Hodeidah Governorate, did not expect that the fishing trip he made with others in the Red Sea, in search of a livelihood, would be frightening and terrifying after the Eritrean Navy's warboats cut them off and targeted them with live bullets.

The fisherman Malik, along with 9 others, went out from the coast of Al-Khawkha, to search for their livelihood from fish and marine life, which is a major source of income.

After they went out on their boat to the Yemeni territorial waters in the Red Sea, the fishermen were surprised by gunboats belonging to the Eritrean Navy, which fired at them directly in an attempt to liquidate them.

According to some sailors in Al-Khokha, the fishermen tried to avoid the attack, but the Eritrean forces insisted on chasing them under a barrage of live bullets. 

The fisherman, Malik Gerd, was shot in the left eye, before the Eritrean forces could block the boat and kidnap anyone in it to a prison of the forces. 

According to the sources, the 10 kidnapped fishermen were taken with their boat to the coast of the Eritrean nerve, before the injured fisherman was returned in a critical condition on a boat to the coast of Hodeidah, without his family being able to transfer him to the hospital for treatment and appropriate medical intervention.

New hackers

The targeting incident was not the first or the last, as the Eritrean forces continue to seize and confiscate the boats of fishermen who go out to search for a living in the waters of the Red Sea.

In August 2021, a Yemeni fisherman was killed and two others were injured in an attack carried out by Eritrean forces while they were working near the Yemeni island of Hanish. While the kidnappings exceeded one thousand and 632 fishermen, most of whom are from Al-Hodeidah Governorate.

According to a report issued by the General Authority for Fisheries in the Red Sea, the Eritrean forces continue their violations and crimes against Yemeni fishermen, including targeting, kidnapping and confiscating their boats and property.

The report indicated that the number of violations that Yemeni fishermen were subjected to during the past two years amounted to more than 7 thousand crimes, and those violations were concentrated in Yemeni territorial waters and international waters. He explained that the Eritrean forces are carrying out open piracy of Yemeni fishermen, and that the kidnappers are looting the boats of the kidnapped fishermen, in addition to subjecting them to various types of abuse and torture, and they are being held without release for long periods in violation of international norms and covenants, and this represents a flagrant violation of human rights.

The report emphasized that such actions are a flagrant violation and abuse of human rights, and target security in the Red Sea and prevent fishermen from earning their livelihood in Yemeni territorial waters.

Explicit justifications

The Eritrean authorities justify the targeting, cutting and piracy process carried out by their naval forces, under the pretext that Yemeni fishermen practice indiscriminate fishing in the Eritrean territorial waters, and that these measures are to defend their country's fish wealth.

The Eritrean accusations were exposed by many fishermen in Hodeidah, especially the released ones, that their kidnapping took place in the regional and international waters in the Red Sea, and that the naval forces are monitoring them with the aim of looting their equipment and boat machinery, which amounts to thousands of dollars.

Statements by officials of the Fishermen's Association in the city of Al-Khokha confirmed that the Eritrean authorities are asking Yemeni fishermen for large sums of money in order to allow them to fish in the territorial waters between Yemen and Eritrea. The process of obtaining licenses has become subject to brokerage and extortion, and sometimes fishermen are chased into Yemeni territorial waters to force them to pay those fees.

They pointed out that the fishermen in Hodeidah are between two fires, either paying sums of money amounting to more than $1,000, or arrest, kidnapping, and confiscation of valuable boats and equipment. They affirmed that there is almost complete disregard and absence of the governmental and diplomatic role to stop these crimes against Yemeni fishermen.

According to sources in fish associations in Hodeidah, the number of Yemeni fishermen in Eritrean prisons exceeded 350 Yemeni fishermen with their boats. Pointing out that the Eritrean authorities released, in late May, 183 Yemeni fishermen who had been kidnapped from their prisons during a previous period.

Many of the released fishermen spoke in their testimonies about the humiliating kidnappings they were subjected to and the sources of their boats, nets and machinery. While some talked about the torture they were subjected to after being forced to practice hard labour.