Boats with Somali refugees capsize, at least 17 dead

ZURICH, Dec 28 (Reuters) At least 17 people were killed and about 140 are missing after the boats in which they were fleeing Somalia capsized off the coast of Yemen late yesterday, the UN refugee agency said today.

Many of the survivors had said they were fleeing the conflict between the Ethiopian-backed Somali government and rival Islamists, it said.

There was an exchange of fire between Yemeni security forces and the smugglers, all 17 of whom have been captured, and two of the four boats overturned as they tried to escape.

''Seventeen people are confirmed dead and some 140 missing after the smugglers' boats they were travelling in from Somalia across the Gulf of Aden capsized off the Yemen coast,'' the UNHCR said in a statement issued in Geneva.

REUTERS SP RAI2213