Yemeni police crack down on Ethiopian refugees
By Our Staff Writer
March 19, 2004
SANA'A - Yemeni security forces early on Friday used water cannon and truncheons to break up a sit-in protest Ethiopian refugees had staged in front of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) since February 10, credible sources told Ethiomedia on Friday.

The security forces cracked down on the refugees at 3 AM when all of the about 150 protesters and their children were asleep in the street. They have been in Yemen for the last 13 years, and their demand for permanent residency or re-settling in another third country has fallen on deaf ears. "Most of them were bundled into police trucks as others fled the scene on foot," said Commander Assefa Tassew, a campaign organizer engaged in publicizing the plight of former members of Ethiopian Navy in Yemen.

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