Jeddah: Border guards rescued 278 illegal migrants of various African nationalities in the Red Sea, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday. The vessel carrying the migrants, including women and children, broke down due to high seas and was pushed by strong winds into Saudi territorial waters, it said. The owner of the vessel and its seven-man crew are facing legal action, it said.
Many migrants, mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia, often try to cross the Red Sea to neighboring Yemen to flee desperate situations of civil war, political instability, poverty and famine.
