Migrants and asylum seekers moving through Somalia face escalating risks of violence, trafficking, and exploitation along smuggling routes, according to a new UNHCR report warning of life-threatening conditions across key migration corridors.

The UN Refugee Agency’s dashboard on “mixed movements” identifies Somalia as both a country of origin and a critical transit hub for Horn of Africa migrants, including Somali returnees, Ethiopians, and asylum seekers fleeing drought and insecurity.

The dangers have been underscored by a string of mass-casualty shipwrecks off Yemen. In August 2025, at least 68 people died and 74 went missing after a boat carrying Ethiopians capsized near Abyan. UN migration officials later revised the toll to 56 dead and 132 missing.

IOM reported that by mid-2025, at least 348 people had died or gone missing along the Eastern Route, surpassing the toll recorded during the same period in 2024. Migrant flows through the corridor rose to 238,000 people between January and June 2025, a 34 percent increase compared to the previous year .

UNHCR said people travelling through southern border regions and toward coastal embarkation points face severe threats, including extortion, kidnappings, and gender-based violence. Smuggling networks dominate routes to Yemen and the Gulf states, where many are deceived with false promises of safety or work opportunities. Children, especially unaccompanied minors, remain at acute risk of forced labor or recruitment into armed groups.

The report also spotlights widespread information gaps. Many migrants rely on smugglers or word-of-mouth to plan their journeys, leaving them vulnerable to misinformation about costs, routes, and risks. Limited humanitarian access in insecure areas further compounds the dangers, restricting the delivery of legal aid, emergency shelter, and protection services.

Somalia’s migration flows are part of a wider regional crisis, where conflict, poverty, and climate shocks drive hundreds of thousands to undertake perilous journeys each year across the Horn of Africa.

Efforts are being made to close the gap. In April 2025, the International Organization for Migration opened a new Migration Response Center in Burao, Somaliland, offering emergency shelter, health care, mental health support, and voluntary return services to stranded migrants .

UNHCR urged governments and aid agencies to expand safe shelters, legal support, and awareness campaigns to counter trafficking networks. It also called for stronger regional cooperation to address the root causes of irregular migration and provide greater protection for people on the move.