ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The deadly shipwreck in waters off Yemen’s coast over the weekend is weighing heavily on the hearts of many in Ethiopia. Twelve migrants on the boat that carried 154 Ethiopians survived the tragedy — at least 68 died and 74 remain missing.
When Solomon Gebremichael heard about Sunday's disaster, it brought back heartbreaking memories — he had lost a close friend and a brother to illegal migration years ago.
"I understand the pain all too well,” Gebremichael told The Associated Press at his home in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
Although Ethiopia has been relatively stable since the war in the country's Tigray region ended in 2022, youth unemployment is currently at over 20%, leading many to risk dangerous waters trying to reach the wealthy Gulf Arab countries, seeking a better life elsewhere.
Mesel Kindeya made the crossing in 2016 via the same sea route as the boat that capsized on Sunday, traveling without papers on harrowing journeys arranged by smugglers from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia.
“We could barely breathe,” she remembers of her own sea crossing. “Speaking up could get us thrown overboard by smugglers. I deeply regret risking my life, thinking it would improve my situation.”
Kindeya made it to Saudi Arabia and worked as a maid for six months, before she was captured by authorities, and imprisoned for eight months. By the time she was deported back to Ethiopia, she had barely managed to earn back the initial cost of her journey.
“Despite the hardships of life, illegal immigration is just not a solution,” she says.
Over the past years, hundreds of migrants have died in shipwrecks off Yemen, the Arab world's most impoverished country that has been engulfed in a civil war since September 2014.
“This shows the desperation of the situation in Ethiopia for many people,” according to Teklemichael Ab Sahlemariam, a human rights lawyer practicing in Addis Ababa.
“They are pushed to head to a war-torn nation like Yemen and onward to Saudi Arabia or Europe," he told the AP. “I know of many who have perished.”
And many of those who get caught and are sent back to Ethiopia try and make the crossing again.
“People keep going back, even when they are deported, facing financial extortion and subjected to sexual exploitation,” the lawyer said.
Ethiopia's foreign ministry in a statement on Monday urged Ethiopians “to use legal avenues in securing opportunities."
"We warn citizens not to take the illegal route in finding such opportunities and avoid the services of traffickers at all cost,” the statement said.
African Union spokesperson Nuur Mohamud Sheek called for urgent collective action in a post on social media "to tackle the root causes of irregular migration and the upholding of migrant rights and to prevent further loss of life.”
Yemen is a major route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa countries.
About 60,000 migrants arrived in Yemen last year, down from 97,200 in 2023 — a drop that has been attributed to greater patrolling of the waters, according to a March report by the U.N.’s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration.
In March, at least two migrants died and 186 others were missing after four boats capsized off Yemen and Djibouti, according to the IOM.
Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
FILE - Ethiopian migrants walk on the shores of Ras al-Ara, Lahj, Yemen, after disembarking from a boat, July 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.
The threat comes a day after a man was shot and wounded by an immigration officer who had been attacked with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger that has radiated across the city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.
Presidents have indeed invoked the Insurrection Act more than two dozen times, most recently in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush to end unrest in Los Angeles. In that instance, local authorities had asked for the assistance.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison responded to Trump's post by saying he would challenge any deployment in court. He's already suing to try to stop the surge by the Department of Homeland Security, which says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December. ICE is a DHS agency.
In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.
Demonstrations have become common in Minneapolis since Good was fatally shot on Jan. 7. Agents who have yanked people from their cars and homes have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding they leave.
“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.
Frey said the federal force — five times the size of the city’s 600-officer police force — has “invaded” Minneapolis, and that residents are scared and angry.
Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law enforcement officers on Wednesday stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove off then crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.
Officers caught up, then two other people arrived and the three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said. The confrontation took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) from where Good was killed.
Police chief Brian O’Hara said the shot man was being treated for a non-life-threatening injury. The two others are in custody, DHS said. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security.
Earlier Wednesday, Gov. Tim Walz described Minnesota said what's happening in the state “defies belief.”
“Let’s be very, very clear: this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement,” he said. “Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the bleeding, how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.
Good was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street near her home. Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been criticized by Minnesota officials.
Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment.
Good’s family has hired the same law firm that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground 2020.
Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Julie Watson in San Diego; Rebecca Santana in Washington; Ed White in Detroit and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis contributed.
A protester holds an umbrella as sparks fly from a flash bang deployed by law enforcement on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Monica Travis shares an embrace while visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A protester yells in front of law enforcement after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters shout at law enforcement officers after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
