east africa: Refugees die after being thrown in sea

Dozens of refugees and illegal immigrants from east Africa were feared drowned in the Gulf of Aden this week after smugglers forced them off a boat at gunpoint, six miles from the coast of Yemen, according to a UN official. At least 21 people died and fears were mounting for a further 80 thought to have been aboard the vessel, with most of the victims said to be women and children too weak to swim ashore. The boat left a small Somali fishing village on September 9 packed with Ethiopians and Somalis fleeing war and poverty.