Almotamar.net, Saba - A ferry with about 300 displaced Somalis on board has capsized in the Bab El-Mandab strait which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Gulf of Aden, the Interior Ministry has said.

The security information center cited coastguards in Aden province as saying a number of those who were aboard the ship swam to the coast of al-Makha but many are still missing.

Rescue operations have started in search for survivors, coastguards said, with many are feared dead.

Security forces in the coastal area of Thubab in the province of al-Makha said they have seized 32 Ethiopians, half of whom were women, along with 9 Somali immigrants as an unidentified ship discharged them at the coast.

One of the immigrants died.

Furthermore, six Ethiopians were also held at the Nasrin area in the northern province of Saada while they were trying to illegally enter Saudi territories. They are being investigated.

Many Somali arrive in Yemen, almost in daily numbers, fleeing deteriorating conditions in their country.

Last figures suggest the number of Somali refugees who have arrived in Yemen since 1991 has reached 800.000.

Somalia has been without a central government since 1991 when the then president was deposed. The country has been in civil conflict with millions of Somali people immigrating to various countries.

During the first half of January 2009, almost 1130 Somali refugees including 260 women and 24 children have fled to Yemen. They arrived in the coasts of Shabwa, Hadramout and Taiz.

Instability in Somalia is one of the main reasons for piracy which has become a growing concern for many countries.

In response to the soaring phenomenon threatening one of the world's busiest waterways where 20.000 ships and vessels pass a year, many countries including Russia have sent naval ships to the Indian Ocean to conduct anti-pirate patrols in the Gulf of Aden and off Somalia's coast.

Saba