Yemen Fighting Uproots 100,000 as Families Cross the Sea to Seek Safety in Djibouti

UNHCR is concerned that intensifying hostilities could force more people from their homes, including some who may seek safety beyond Yemen’s borders.

Families fleeing escalating fighting along Yemen's western coast are leaving with few belongings, searching for shelter inside the country or taking a difficult sea journey to Djibouti. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns that more than 100,000 people have been displaced within Yemen, and more than 2,400 have crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in just four days, putting growing pressure on communities and services receiving them.

Displacement has spread across Al Hodeidah, Ta'iz, Lahj, Aden, Abyan, Marib, Al Dhaleh and Shabwah, where families urgently need shelter, food, clean water, health care and protection. UNHCR is concerned that intensifying hostilities could force more people from their homes, including some who may seek safety beyond Yemen's borders.

Families Need Help as Fighting Blocks Relief Routes

Delivering assistance is becoming harder because of insecurity, damaged roads, telecommunications failures and movement restrictions, particularly along the western coast and routes connecting Ta'iz, At Turbah and Aden. Damage to Al Makha port has added to the logistical difficulties, making it harder for humanitarian teams to move assistance through areas affected by the fighting.

UNHCR is coordinating the inter-agency response for protection, shelter and displacement sites, with emergency activities including multipurpose financial assistance for 1,000 households, emergency shelter cash for 500 households and shelter repair kits for another 1,000 households. Plans for 3,000 additional core relief item kits and expanded financial support depend on funding and access. The agency is also warning of renewed risks for more than 65,000 registered refugees and asylum-seekers already living in Yemen, most of them from Somalia and Ethiopia.

Djibouti Welcomes Arrivals as Shelter Space Runs Short

People crossing from Yemen are arriving mainly through Obock, Khor Angar, Moulhoule and Godoria, with women, children and older people accounting for more than 60 per cent of arrivals. Sandrine Desamours, UNHCR Representative in Djibouti, described families reaching shore exhausted and distressed after their journey, carrying the few possessions they managed to take. Reports suggest more people may be preparing to leave, and contingency planning is underway in Somalia for possible arrivals.

UNHCR says those fleeing conflict and insecurity need international protection, reception and assistance, and has thanked Djibouti for keeping its borders open. Working with the government, the national refugee authority and partners, the agency is supporting registration, transport, temporary shelter, food, water, health care and protection services. Teams are present in Obock, and new arrivals are being moved from coastal landing points to Markazi refugee village for registration and further support.

Djiboutian families and the Yemeni refugee community are sharing their homes and resources, but the response faces a severe funding shortage. Markazi has room for around 5,000 additional refugees, compared with preparations for more than 10,000 arrivals. Children and adolescents make up an overwhelming number of those arriving, according to Desamours, and efforts to enrol them in existing schools are adding pressure to classrooms that are already crowded.

Funding Gaps and Shipping Risks Threaten Essential Supplies

Insecurity around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could disrupt humanitarian and commercial shipping serving Yemen, Sudan and other emergencies, adding to logistical pressures linked to disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. The route connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, making continued access important for relief deliveries; further disruption could increase transport costs and delay supplies needed by communities already struggling to get help.

UNHCR has emergency supplies travelling to Sudan and options for land shipments from its global stockpiles in Dubai and Nairobi. A further deterioration could require ships to travel around the Cape of Good Hope, adding 25 to 30 days to journeys. The agency needs an estimated $14 million for immediate needs inside Yemen, with additional international support required in Djibouti to keep reception, protection and essential services available as more families arrive.