VZCZCXRO7197 
PP RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO 
DE RUEHDJ #0439/01 1280943 
ZNR UUUUU ZZH 
P 070943Z MAY 08 
FM AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI 
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9228 
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE 
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000439 
 
STATE FOR AF/E, PRM/AFR, S/CRS AND USAID 
ADDIS ABABA FOR REFCOORD 
NAIROBI FOR RDRAPCHO AND REFCOORD 
GENEVA FOR KPERKINS 
CJTF-HOA FOR POLAD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF SMIG EAID SO ET DJ YM XA
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI - IMPACT OF SOMALI REFUGEES AND YEMEN-BOUND 
MIGRANTS 
 
REF: A) DJIBOUTI 437 B) DJIBOUTI 223 C) 07 DJIBOUTI 1004 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Representatives from the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the National Office of 
Assistance to Refugees and Disaster Stricken People (ONARS)--the 
Government of Djibouti (GoDJ) office in charge of refugee 
affairs--reported the ongoing arrival of refugees/migrants at the 
Djibouti-Somaliland border and at the city of Obock, in the northern 
region of Djibouti. As the refugees continue to arrive, UNHCR's 
registration backlog continues to grow due to the increasing influx. 
The migrants seek traffickers in a desperate attempt to cross the 
sea to Yemen from Djibouti. The GoDJ only grants prima facie 
refugee status to those from southern Somalia. END SUMMARY. 
 
-------------------- 
REGISTRATION BACKLOG 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On March 20, UNHCR reported an estimated 1,500 refugee 
registration backlog. Both UNHCR and ONARS lack human and technical 
resources to screen, house, and feed the refugees, creating a 
registration backlog. Those who traveled to Djibouti to seek refuge 
wait at the border for ONARS and UNHCR every day. ONARS picks them 
up once a day or every other day, conducts a head count at the 
border, loads the refugees onto the back of a truck, and takes them 
to the ONARS compound in Djibouti city where they will stay for up 
to two days, waiting for registration. UNHCR receives many of the 
refugees from ONARS without registering and/or screening them. 
 
-------------------- 
REFUGEES OR MIGRANTS 
-------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Not all crossing the border seek refugee status in Djibouti; 
many intend to use Djibouti as a transit point to Yemen, which will 
eventually lead them to the Middle East in search of economic 
opportunities. Migrants quickly make their way to Djibouti 
city--less than 20 kilometers away from the Loyada border crossing 
between Djibouti and Somaliland--seeking traffickers to assist 
taking them to the coastal town of Obock, 230 kilometers north of 
Djibouti city and across the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, a relatively 
short crossing to Yemen. 
 
¶4. (U) While in Djibouti city, migrants seek shelter with friends 
and family, in mosques, and in smugglers' safe houses. Many of the 
most vulnerable new arrivals-- including large numbers of 
unaccompanied minors, women and children--can be found sleeping in 
the streets. The refugee influx has created more competition for 
space and food among the already impoverished population. 
 
-------------------------- 
MIGRANTS DETAINED IN OBOCK 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) On March 16, UNHCR Representative Ann Encontre and the 
Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior and Executive 
Secretary of ONARS, Mr. Hassan Omar, visited a detention center in 
the coastal town of Obock, located in the northern region of 
Djibouti. During their visit, they witnessed over 200 people 
crammed in a room not meant to hold more than 20 people. The 
detainees consisted of Somalis, Ethiopians, and Eritreans. The 
police intercepted the migrants as traffickers attempted to travel 
with them by sea between Djibouti and Yemen. The Obock Commissioner 
fed the detained migrants rice once a day, using his personal 
funds. 
 
------------------------------- 
GODJ CRACKS DOWN ON TRAFFICKERS 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Mr. Omar reported that since the Government of Yemen 
complained about refugees exiting Djibouti, and attempting to enter 
the Yemen via the sea, the GoDJ has taken appropriate measures to 
contain the movement of migrants. The UNHCR office in Yemen 
confirmed the Government of Yemen's complaints. The GoDJ has begun 
to crack down on the traffickers and their middlemen, rounding up 
illegal migrants considered being transits. In March, the GoDJ 
captured 180 migrants during raids in Obock. Those complicit in 
trafficking were arrested, and three boats and a vehicle were seized 
during the operations. In their attempt to halt the trafficking, 
the GoDJ created checkpoints on suspected travel routes to intercept 
traffickers; however, migrants found alternate routes to Obock. 
 
¶7. (U) Traffickers charge USD 100-150 for a journey from Djibouti to 
Yemen. Migrants pay the money to the middlemen, who work from 
kiosks in town. Despite the improbability of boats leaving the 
country due to the increased patrolling by police and coast guard 
units, migrants have been more than willing to pay as they are 
promised and/or in search of a better life. Too often the migrants 
never reach the shores of Yemen. The traffickers will sail around 
Djibouti's coastal waters overnight; then drop the migrants off on 
the shores of Djibouti, assuring them they have arrived in Yemen; or 
the migrants are thrown off the boat and forced to swim at least one 
kilometer to the shores of Yemen, causing many to lose their lives 
by drowning. 
 
¶8. (U) UNHCR reported that the crackdown has caused many of the 
migrants choosing to transit to lie low in the city, waiting for an 
opportunity to arise and for the Yemen transit to resume. 
Meanwhile, many have decided to travel the long and dangerous path 
from Obock through Eritrea and on to Sudan, and Libya. 
 
-------------------------- 
SEEKING REFUGE IN DJIBOUTI 
-------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Despite the mass movement to seek refuge in the Middle 
East, many Somali refugees continues to cross at Loyada seeking 
refuge in Djibouti. Since independence in 1977, Djibouti has been 
accepting refugees from its neighboring countries. Today, it 
continues, despite the fact that they do not have the infrastructure 
or the means to cope with the flow of the incoming refugees and 
migrants. Mr. Omar is afraid the GoDJ will soon close its borders. 
He identifies the need for Djibouti to act quickly; however, he sees 
no solution in the near future. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Economic migrants from Ethiopia and some Eritreans fleeing 
harsh conditions reportedly cross the border and mainly take refuge 
in Djibouti city. Mr. Omar spoke of an increasing number of 
pastoral populations from the Ogaden area in Ethiopia's Somali 
Regional State, who enters Djibouti fleeing the current political 
situation and drought. The UNHCR representative reported that the 
GoDJ avoided publicizing the situation, not wanting to displease 
Ethiopian authorities. Except for southern Somalis, no other newly 
arriving refugees are granted prima facie status; instead, they must 
undergo screening by the national eligibility commission, jointly 
operated by ONARS and UNHCR on a case-by-case basis. The GoDJ to 
date has not opened the latter possibility to arrivals originating 
from the Ogaden, fearing an additional influx of refugees. 
 
¶11. (SBU) COMMENT: The GoDJ and UNHCR see no end to the refugee and 
migrant influx. UNHCR's projected 2008 refugee arrival numbers have 
reportedly already been attained before the first quarter of this 
year. All refugee agencies in Djibouti are overwhelmed by the 
situation. Post will be preparing a Section 1207/1210 proposal 
outlining border security needs and other concerns of the GoDJ 
resulting from this recent influx of refugees from southern Somalia, 
including the need to construct border crossing stations at Loyada 
and other areas along the Djibouti-Somalia border. END COMMENT. 
 
SYMINGTON