'34 migrants have died off the coast Djibouti'

MOGADISHU, Somalia

At least 34 migrants have died off the coast of Djibouti on Monday after their boat capsized, the UN migration agency's regional director said.

"34 migrants have tragically died off the Coast of Djibouti after their boat capsized. The migrants were being transported by people smugglers. Second such tragedy in just over a month. 20 died & several injured in March," Mohammed Abdiker, the International Organization for Migration's regional director for East and Horn of Africa said.

Apprehending and prosecuting people traffickers and smugglers who exploit the vulnerabilities of migrants must become a priority. Too many lives needlessly lost, he added.

Earlier last month, at least 20 migrants, mostly Ethiopians and Somalis, had died after human smugglers pushed 80 of them off a boat along the East African coast of the port town of Obock in Djibouti.

Djibouti, bordering Somalia in the south and the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in the east, is a small country located in the Horn of Africa.