A group of Amazon workers in Minnesota who are Somali refugees resettled in the Midwestern US state demanded better working conditions Friday during a protest outside one of the retailer's warehouses.

Dozens braved frigid temperatures to demonstrate outside of the Amazon warehouse in the Minneapolis suburb of Shakopee&nbsp;home to a sizable Somali immigrant population from which Amazon has heavily recruited.

The protest is the latest effort by the workers, who say East African immigrants make up a majority of the workforce at the massive warehouse but go unheard.

"We don't have rights in the company," worker Abdulkadir Ahmad, 30, told AFP.

The workers, many of whom are practising Muslims, say the required productivity rate is too high, that the company is unconcerned about too many worker injuries and that the conditions don't allow practising Muslims to pray as they otherwise would.

"We do not have enough time to pray. There is a lot of pressure. They say your rate is too low," Ahmad said.

The workers timed their protest during the busy holiday shopping season, hoping to force the online retailer to make changes. They already have had some success, most significantly in holding two meetings with management.

The New York Times reported that it was the first known instance of any group succeeding in forcing Amazon to negotiate.

"We are appreciative they've sat down and talked with us, but we are not seeing real action," activist Abdi Muse said.

Muse is the executive director of the Awood Center, a union-backed non-profit that organized the protest and helps East African workers in the state.

Amazon countered that it is a source of good pay and health benefits for warehouse employees, and has been engaged in "direct dialogue." "I encourage anyone to compare our pay, benefits and workplace to other retailers and major employers in the Shakopee community and across the country," spokeswoman Shevaun Brown said in a statement.

The retail giant has faced past complaints from warehouse employees about working conditions.

It has more than 75 "fulfilment centres" across the country where purchased merchandise is packaged and shipped. The centres employ more than 125,000 full-time employees, according to Amazon.

Bloomberg reported this week that warehouse workers in New York have announced plans to unionize.&nbsp;

A group of Amazon workers in Minnesota who are Somali refugees resettled in the Midwestern US state demanded better working conditions Friday during a protest outside one of the retailer's warehouses.

A group of Amazon workers in Minnesota who are Somali refugees resettled in the Midwestern US state demanded better working conditions Friday during a protest outside one of the retailer's warehouses. Dozens braved frigid temperatures to demonstrate outside of the Amazon warehouse in the Minneapolis suburb of Shakopee home to a sizable Somali immigrant population from which Amazon has heavily recruited. The protest is the latest effort by the workers, who say East African immigrants make up a majority of the workforce at the massive warehouse but go unheard. "We don't have rights in the company," worker Abdulkadir Ahmad, 30, told AFP. The workers, many of whom are practising Muslims, say the required productivity rate is too high, that the company is unconcerned about too many worker injuries and that the conditions don't allow practising Muslims to pray as they otherwise would. "We do not have enough time to pray. There is a lot of pressure. They say your rate is too low," Ahmad said. The workers timed their protest during the busy holiday shopping season, hoping to force the online retailer to make changes. They already have had some success, most significantly in holding two meetings with management. The New York Times reported that it was the first known instance of any group succeeding in forcing Amazon to negotiate. "We are appreciative they've sat down and talked with us, but we are not seeing real action," activist Abdi Muse said. Muse is the executive director of the Awood Center, a union-backed non-profit that organized the protest and helps East African workers in the state. Amazon countered that it is a source of good pay and health benefits for warehouse employees, and has been engaged in "direct dialogue." "I encourage anyone to compare our pay, benefits and workplace to other retailers and major employers in the Shakopee community and across the country," spokeswoman Shevaun Brown said in a statement. The retail giant has faced past complaints from warehouse employees about working conditions. It has more than 75 "fulfilment centres" across the country where purchased merchandise is packaged and shipped. The centres employ more than 125,000 full-time employees, according to Amazon. Bloomberg reported this week that warehouse workers in New York have announced plans to unionize.

Somali-American Amazon workers demand better conditions

At least 40 Somali refugees were killed off the coast of Yemen late on Thursday when a helicopter attacked the boat they were travelling in, the United Nations refugee agency said.

Mohamed al-Alay, a coast guard officer in the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah area, told Reuters the refugees, carrying official UNHCR documents, were on their way from Yemen to Sudan when they were attacked by an Apache helicopter near the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The UNHCR said on its Twitter account at least 40 refugees were reported dead.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack.

&quot;We do not know who carried it out but survivors said they came under attack from another boat at 9 pm, the crew used lights and shouted to signal this is a civilian boat. Nevertheless, it did not have any effect and a helicopter joined in the attack,&quot; ICRC spokesperson Iolanda Jaguemet said.

UNHCR spokeswoman in Yemen, Shabia Mantoo, confirmed that a number of refugees were killed.

&quot;We are distressed by this incident and understand that refugees were travelling in a vessel off the coast of Hodeidah which was reportedly impacted during the course of hostilities,&quot; she told Reuters.

A sailor who had been operating the boat, Ibrahim Ali Zeyad, said 80 refugees had been rescued.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the number of dead may be more than 31.

&quot;We just got information of a helicopter assault on a boat leaving Yemen, we believe for Sudan, full of Somalis,&quot; spokesman Joel Millman told a news briefing in Geneva.

He added that the IOM was aware of 80 survivors brought to hospitals in Hodeidah.

&quot;It was a heartbreaking scene. I saw many men, women and children either killed or horribly wounded,&quot; ICRC&#39;s Eric Christopher Wyss said.

The Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Houthi forces in Yemen said it did not conduct any operations or have any engagement in the Hodeidah area on Thursday.

Coalition spokesman General Ahmed al-Asseri said Hodeidah remained under the control of the Houthis and the port continued to be used for &quot;trafficking people, smuggling weapons and attacks against the line of communications in the Red Sea&quot;.

Hodeidah is controlled by Iran-allied Houthi fighters who in 2014 overran Yemen&#39;s capital Sanaa and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee into exile.

The Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 to fight the Houthis and troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh who have fired missiles into neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

The Bab al-Mandeb is a strategic waterway in the Red Sea through which nearly 4 million barrels of oil are shipped daily.

(Reuters)

Coast guard officer Mohamed al-Alay said the refugees were on their way from Yemen to Sudan when they were attacked by an Apache helicopter

At least 40 Somali refugees were killed off the coast of Yemen late on Thursday when a helicopter attacked the boat they were travelling in, the United Nations refugee agency said. Mohamed al-Alay, a coast guard officer in the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah area, told Reuters the refugees, carrying official UNHCR documents, were on their way from Yemen to Sudan when they were attacked by an Apache helicopter near the Bab al-Mandeb strait. The UNHCR said on its Twitter account at least 40 refugees were reported dead. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack. "We do not know who carried it out but survivors said they came under attack from another boat at 9 pm, the crew used lights and shouted to signal this is a civilian boat. Nevertheless, it did not have any effect and a helicopter joined in the attack," ICRC spokesperson Iolanda Jaguemet said. UNHCR spokeswoman in Yemen, Shabia Mantoo, confirmed that a number of refugees were killed. "We are distressed by this incident and understand that refugees were travelling in a vessel off the coast of Hodeidah which was reportedly impacted during the course of hostilities," she told Reuters. A sailor who had been operating the boat, Ibrahim Ali Zeyad, said 80 refugees had been rescued. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the number of dead may be more than 31. "We just got information of a helicopter assault on a boat leaving Yemen, we believe for Sudan, full of Somalis," spokesman Joel Millman told a news briefing in Geneva. He added that the IOM was aware of 80 survivors brought to hospitals in Hodeidah. "It was a heartbreaking scene. I saw many men, women and children either killed or horribly wounded," ICRC's Eric Christopher Wyss said. The Saudi-led coalition that is fighting Houthi forces in Yemen said it did not conduct any operations or have any engagement in the Hodeidah area on Thursday. Coalition spokesman General Ahmed al-Asseri said Hodeidah remained under the control of the Houthis and the port continued to be used for "trafficking people, smuggling weapons and attacks against the line of communications in the Red Sea". Hodeidah is controlled by Iran-allied Houthi fighters who in 2014 overran Yemen's capital Sanaa and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee into exile. The Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 to fight the Houthis and troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh who have fired missiles into neighbouring Saudi Arabia. The Bab al-Mandeb is a strategic waterway in the Red Sea through which nearly 4 million barrels of oil are shipped daily. (Reuters)

At least 40 Somali refugees killed by air strike off Yemen coast: UNHCR

Kenya aims to reduce by almost half the population of Dadaab refugee camp which is home to about 326,000 mostly Somali refugees by the end of the year, a committee that groups Kenya, Somalia and the UN refugee agency UNHCR said. 
 
Kenya has said it wants to close the camp, which was once home to more than half a million refugees, citing security threats. Nairobi says the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab has used the camp as a recruiting ground to launch attacks on Kenya. 
 
But Kenya has been urged by United States, United Nations and others to ensure no one is forced to return to Somalia, which is still struggling to rebuild after decades of conflict and continues to face an Islamist insurgency. 
 
After a meeting on Saturday, the so-called Tripartite Commission said Dadaab had 326,000 refugees at the end of May, already 100,000 fewer than five years earlier, many of whom it said were believed to have returned to Somalia. 
 
&quot;The parties noted the prospect of the reduction of the population in the Dadaab camps by 150,000 individuals by the end of 2016,&quot; the joint communique said, referring to string of sites that make up the Dadaab camp complex. 
 
It said the number would be reduced due to &quot;voluntary returns to Somalia, relocation of non-Somali refugees, the de-registration of Kenyan citizens who registered as refugees, and a population verification exercise.&quot; 
 
The UN had said earlier this year that it planned to reduce the number of people in Dadaab by 50,000 by the end of 2016, but had said that it could be a challenge given continued security concerns in Somalia and lack of schools and other public services there. 
 
A UN official said on Sunday that the new target of reducing the Dadaab population by 150,000 was a prospective figure and it was not guaranteed to be achieved. 
 
The Tripartite Commission also said it had agreed to meet again in October 2016 to review progress made &quot;on the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees from Kenya.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

The Somali Islamist group, al-Shabaab, has used Dadaab refugee camp as a recruiting ground to launch attacks on Kenya, says Nairobi

Kenya aims to reduce by almost half the population of Dadaab refugee camp which is home to about 326,000 mostly Somali refugees by the end of the year, a committee that groups Kenya, Somalia and the UN refugee agency UNHCR said. Kenya has said it wants to close the camp, which was once home to more than half a million refugees, citing security threats. Nairobi says the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab has used the camp as a recruiting ground to launch attacks on Kenya. But Kenya has been urged by United States, United Nations and others to ensure no one is forced to return to Somalia, which is still struggling to rebuild after decades of conflict and continues to face an Islamist insurgency. After a meeting on Saturday, the so-called Tripartite Commission said Dadaab had 326,000 refugees at the end of May, already 100,000 fewer than five years earlier, many of whom it said were believed to have returned to Somalia. "The parties noted the prospect of the reduction of the population in the Dadaab camps by 150,000 individuals by the end of 2016," the joint communique said, referring to string of sites that make up the Dadaab camp complex. It said the number would be reduced due to "voluntary returns to Somalia, relocation of non-Somali refugees, the de-registration of Kenyan citizens who registered as refugees, and a population verification exercise." The UN had said earlier this year that it planned to reduce the number of people in Dadaab by 50,000 by the end of 2016, but had said that it could be a challenge given continued security concerns in Somalia and lack of schools and other public services there. A UN official said on Sunday that the new target of reducing the Dadaab population by 150,000 was a prospective figure and it was not guaranteed to be achieved. The Tripartite Commission also said it had agreed to meet again in October 2016 to review progress made "on the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees from Kenya." (Reuters)

Kenya to halve size of Somali refugee camp by 2016 end

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Somali-American Amazon workers demand better conditions

At least 40 Somali refugees killed by air strike off Yemen coast: UNHCR

Kenya to halve size of Somali refugee camp by 2016 end