More than 100,000 people have been internally displaced along Yemen’s western coast as fighting continues to escalate between the Iran-backed Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported Tuesday.
“Humanitarian access remains a major challenge,” it said. “Insecurity, damaged roads, telecommunications disruptions, and movement restrictions are affecting operations.”
The latest escalation comes as the Houthis seek to seize control of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital choke point for global oil and commodities shipping, and after the Houthis launched a number of attacks on Saudi Arabia and its assets.
It follows Iran’s efforts to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz.
More than 85,000 people had been displaced in Yemen, including 82,164 since the beginning of September, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Sunday, citing the Displacement Tracking Matrix.
More than 2,400 people fleeing Yemen’s civil war have reached the northern shores of Djibouti, according to the UNHCR, as the civil war, which erupted after the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, continues to escalate. More than 60% of those fleeing are women, children, or elderly men, the report said.
Djibouti struggling with influx of displaced individuals
IOM and other UN partners have provided support to the Djiboutian authorities, who have mobilized their navy, army, police, and health services for the displaced masses.
Despite the support, however, Djibouti Finance Minister Ilyas Dawaleh on Sunday said the situation was “becoming increasingly difficult for our country, despite our unwavering commitment to humanitarian resources.”
UNHCR Representative in Djibouti Sandrine Desamours said: “People are arriving after a difficult sea journey, many exhausted, distressed, and carrying what little they could take with them.”
“The response is already under pressure,” she said. “We urgently need more support before more families arrive and needs outpace our capacity to assist them.”
New arrivals were being transported to the Markazi site in Obock, where they receive food and water, the IOM said.
Desamours said the site only has room for about 5,000 more refugees, adding that more than 10,000 arrivals were expected in the coming days and weeks.
IOM director-general calls for donor support for refugees
“Behind every number is a family who’s lost everything,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said. “Many have been displaced multiple times. People are crossing the sea with nothing because they have no other choice left. Yemen is a country torn by poverty and conflict, and it cannot carry this crisis alone. I call on donors to scale up support now, for those arriving in Djibouti and for the communities in Obock receiving them.”
Taiz, a province near the port city of Mocha on the Red Sea, remains the hardest hit, with 9,280 households, or nearly 56,000 people, displaced from its districts, the IOM said. In Lahj, about 19,000 of its residents have been forced to flee, it added.