Hundreds of people fleeing the war in Yemen reached the port town of Bossaso, 1500 km northeast of the Somali capital Mogadishu, by boat on Wednesday.

Officials working with Puntland, a semi-autonomous authority in north-eastern Somalia, said that the new arrivals, all of them Somali refugees in Yemen, comprised of 763 children, 581 women and 379 men, totalling 1723 persons.

With the help of locals, the Puntland government representatives helped the arrivals with foods and drinks after their voyage.

Puntland’s Deputy Minister for Interior Affairs Abdullahi Qobdeero underlined the burden his authority was facing with the sudden influx of the refugees.

“The issue of the refugees arriving in Puntland seems sliding out of control,” said Mr Qobdeero. “Puntland has no capacity to meet the needs of the refugees,” he added.

The refugees who spoke to local media said they came from the Yemeni cities of Sanaa, Aden, Ta’izz and Mukalla.

Ms Layla Mohamed Mohamoud, one of the arriving refugee, said that the situation in Yemen was worsening by the day.

“My family and I are from Sanaa where we spent most of the time in the house to avoid the heavy bombardment by the warring sides,” she said.

“When possible, I would sneak out to stay in a queue for 5 pieces of chapatti (unleavened flatbread).”

Ms Mohamoud complained of lack of water, electricity and other basic amenities in the Yemeni capital.

A Saudi led coalition is battling Houthi rebels that have been trying to overthrow the internationally recognized Yemeni government led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Over the past two decades, refugees fleeing the conflicts in Somalia crossed the Gulf of Aden in search of safety.

However, as armed confrontations escalate in Yemen, the refugees are striving to come back to Somalia alongside Yemenis also escaping the war.

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