ADDIS ABABA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN migration agency, International Organization for Migration (IOM), announced on Wednesday that it had repatriated 233 Ethiopian migrants over the past week from war-torn Yemen.

In a press statement, the IOM said the Ethiopians were evacuated on boats from the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah that is being fiercely contested by rival warring sides.

The IOM said the migrants were first transferred across the Red Sea to Djibouti where they received humanitarian and medical support before being transported to Ethiopia.

Every year, thousands of Ethiopians looking for better economic opportunities abroad are estimated to have trafficked through Somalia, Djibouti and the Red Sea to reach the Arabian Peninsula.

Ethiopian migrants in Yemen reportedly face constant abuses by smugglers and other criminals, including arbitrary detention and forced labor.