Djibouti is a key route used by migrants from Africa seeking to enter the Gulf. / Photo: TRT Afrika    

The United Nations migration agency says 38 migrants are dead and 22 others have been rescued from a shipwreck off Djibouti on a popular route to Yemen.

Rescue teams searched for six other migrants who were thought to be on board, the International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.

Djibouti is the main transit country for migrants trying to reach Gulf nations from Horn of Africa nations such as Ethiopia and Somalia in search of work.

Tens of thousands use the route every year.

The IOM says the route is dangerous as migrants are targeted by traffickers and can face kidnap, arbitrary arrest and forced recruitment into warring groups, particularly in Yemen.

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AP