-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The United Nations ' refugee agency said Tuesday that more Africans have fled poverty and conflict on the continent during the first 10 months of this year than in all of 2007 . A woman who has been displaced by the current fighting in the Congo . The bulk of the more than 96,000 African refugees headed to Yemen and Italy , according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees office . The rest sought refuge in Malta , Greece , Spain and the Canary Islands , the agency said . Last weekend , at least 60 refugees died en route to Yemen , a frequent destination for Somali and Ethiopian refugees , according to Doctors Without Borders , known by its French acronym MSF . UNHCR said most of those who died were forced overboard in deep water off Yemen 's coast by smugglers who demanded more money than the $ 100 they paid for the journey . `` Those who did not or could not pay extra were severely beaten by the smugglers , '' UNHCR said in a news release Tuesday . `` Up to 40 -- mainly Ethiopians -- -LSB- were -RSB- thrown overboard despite their pleas for mercy . '' Andreas Koutepas , MSF 's field coordinator in southern Yemen , said such a high number of refugee deaths in a short period of time `` is not usual at all . '' `` For the whole of September until now , we 've had 27 dead and now suddenly we reach this number , '' Koutepas told CNN from MSF 's base in Ahwar , Yemen . `` We are quite shocked here . '' About 30,000 African refugees arrived on boats on Italy 's shores during the first 10 months of this year compared with 19,900 refugees last year , according to UNHCR . In Malta , an estimated 2,600 boat people arrived in the first nine months of this year from North Africa , compared with 1,800 last year , UNHCR said . . The agency said that from January to October this year , 509 of those attempting to make the journey to Italy and Malta died , compared with last year 's death toll of 471 . More than 38,000 people have made the perilous journey across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia to Yemen during the first 10 months of this year , a `` considerable increase from the 29,500 who made the same journey during the whole of last year , '' UNHCR said Tuesday . However , the death toll on that route has remained lower so far this year : more than 600 have died or disappeared en route to Yemen compared to 1,400 killed last year . In late September , at least 52 Somalis died when the boat smuggling them across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen broke down , and they were left adrift with no food or water for 18 days , according to the U.N. . Many are fleeing the war in Somalia , but Koutepas of MSF told CNN on Monday that he has noticed a recent increase in the number of refugees from Ethiopia . `` It used to be 10 percent of total arrival , and now it 's around 50-50 , '' he said . Yemen is a common destination for Somalis fleeing economic hardship and war because of its proximity . It is also an attractive location because Somalis receive automatic refugee status in the fellow Muslim country . New smuggling routes , including some based out of Djibouti -- which lies north of Somalia and is much closer to Yemen -- have also led to the increase in refugees , according to the UNHCR . But according to the Yemen Post , Yemen is just a stopping point for most of the refugees , who then travel on to the wealthier Persian Gulf states or Europe and the United States . Earlier this year , Yemen 's coast guard stepped up patrols of its coastline in an attempt to deter the smugglers . Some of the smuggling boats seized by Yemen 's coast guard are given to Somali fishermen who suffered losses in the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami . As part of a $ 19 million operation , UNHCR operates shelters and reception centers for the refugees in Yemen and has increased its efforts to discourage people from making the illegal crossing to Yemen . It has also sponsored training programs for coast guard personnel and other officials . MSF said the plight of the refugees has been overshadowed by the dozens of pirate attacks off Somalia 's coast that have grabbed international headlines in recent months . `` A lot of attention has been paid lately to tackling the issue of piracy in the waters off the Horn of Africa , '' said MSF Yemen mission leader Francis Coteur . `` Unfortunately , little attention is paid to the drama of the refugees crossing the same waters in horrific conditions . Much more needs to be done to address this issue . ''