Djibouti: emigrants thrown over edge, died or sharp

[Hibo]

DJIBOUTI (AFP) - Sixty passengers at least, of which some still alive, were thrown to the sea, and others killed on board, by the crew of a boat in perdition in the gulf of Aden, showed Thursday of rescapés questioned in Djibouti by the AFP.

 

The captain and his five sailors, all Somaliens, were stopped by the police force djiboutienne once brought back to ground with rescapés, after being helped at sea by a ship of the Spanish military fleet, one indicated Thursday of French military source to Djibouti.

 

The frigate of the Spanish navy "El Patino", taking part in the fleet of monitoring anti-terrorist in the gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, had gone to the help of the boat which had drifted ten days following a damage from engine. It had collected 93 people, whose crew, and had discovered three corpses on board, specified the same source.

 

The captain somalien of the boat of the emigrants, stated to have embarked with 150 passengers with Bossaso, on the coast of the regional autonomous State of Puntland, in Somalia. The rescapés passengers affirmed that it 200 were more than piled up in the boat, still added the same source.

 

Rescapés affirmed with the AFP in Djibouti that the crew had killed out of the passengers, and had thrown some alive to the sea. They denounced the "cupidity" of these passeurs of men, showing them to have held to ransom dying who asked them for a little water or food.

 

"the Spanish sailors come Tuesday with the helps from rescapés saw men throwing corpses over edge, and are even parvenu to fish out a body before it does not sink", declared with the AFP a French officer.

 

An Ethiopian young person rescapée, Almaz Awaden, 19 years, confined with the others with the French military airport of Djibouti, affirmed to be piled up in the hold of the boat with more than one hundred other people, and to have seen members crew to kill him out of the passengers.

 

"There had been nothing to eat or drink for several days, and one prevented us from leaving our heads to breathe the breeze of sea. Those which tried to leave the hold saw crashing to pieces cranium, we were the first to die ", it declared with the AFP.

 

"Of the passengers died of disease, thirst, weakness or to have drunk sea water, and were thrown to water, but of others were cut the throat of or cut down by balls", it affirmed.

 

"Seven, eight even ten corpses were thrown by top-edge each day", entrusted Kosse Mohamed Abdillahi, which lost nine members of its family in this tragedy, supporting that "on told us that the boat was going to run if one quickly did not get rid of the corpses ".

 

"One cried a long time, a long time, until pity leaves us", it continued. "We became insensitive, inhuman, cruel. One thought of the dead one who also watched for us us, this death become heavy, invading, presents ", it affirmed.

 

"Of the women whose belly had inflated and who vomitted were disappeared. Whereas they were unconscious, but alive, the men of crew had attached the arms to them and the legs with cords and had thrown them to water ", it added.

 

The Ethiopian emigrants, somaliens and, had left the coast of Puntland while intending to join Yemen, then the countries of the Gulf, confirmed a French military source.

 

Once rescapés collected by the Spanish frigate, of the Spanish helicopters, German and French had evacuated them towards Djibouti.

 

Rescapés whose health inspired by concerns had been dealt with by advanced medical station of the French Forces in Djibouti (FFDJ), whose base is most significant of France in Africa, with a manpower of some 2.700 soldiers