Yemen Violence Displaces 130,000 as Shelters Fill and Aid Funding Runs Short

UNHCR has declared an initial Level 1 emergency for Yemen, Djibouti and Somalia to mobilise staff and resources for cash assistance, shelter and protection.

More than 130,000 people have fled their homes in Yemen since the beginning of September as fighting spreads across multiple front lines, forcing families to seek safety inside the country or risk sea crossings to Djibouti, Somalia and other destinations. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns that displacement could rise further as the conflict puts more civilians in danger. At least 110 civilian casualties have been reported, including 28 deaths, with fears that both the toll and humanitarian needs will grow as insecurity makes reaching affected communities increasingly difficult.

Families face blocked roads and crowded shelters

Taiz accounts for more than 60 per cent of the latest displacement, making it the centre of the crisis, with many families trapped within the governorate because fighting, blocked roads and shortages of transport and fuel prevent them from reaching safer places. People are also fleeing Al Jawf, Marib and Al Hodeidah. More than 90,000 people have arrived in Aden, Lahj, Abyan, Al Dhale'e and Marib, where crowded displacement sites and fragile public services are struggling to meet urgent needs for shelter, food, clean water, health care and protection.

The escalation adds to an emergency that had already displaced more than 5.2 million people within Yemen, where over 22 million people need humanitarian assistance, including around 65,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from Somalia and Ethiopia. For newly displaced families, finding somewhere to stay offers little security when more than 70 per cent are living in emergency or substandard shelters, leaving them dependent on assistance that relief agencies are struggling to deliver.

Emergency support reaches families as access narrows

UNHCR has declared an initial Level 1 emergency for Yemen, Djibouti and Somalia to mobilise staff and resources for cash assistance, shelter and protection. Emergency cash has reached 200 displaced families, with immediate support planned for 1,000. Funding has been secured for cash-for-shelter assistance for 500 families in Aden and Lahj, and preparations are underway to distribute 1,000 repair kits for damaged homes. Protection assessments have begun to identify urgent needs and risks among 2,000 households.

A shipment of 3,000 relief packages is being dispatched from UNHCR's global emergency stockpile in Dubai, containing sleeping mats, blankets, solar lamps, kitchen sets, jerry cans, mosquito nets and plastic tarpaulins. UNHCR and its partners are also planning the voluntary return of around 150 Somali refugees from Aden to Mogadishu. Getting assistance to people remains difficult because active front lines, movement restrictions, telecommunications disruptions and damage to roads and infrastructure, including Al Mokha port, are slowing deliveries and limiting access. The agency is calling for safe, unimpeded access to families who have fled with very little.

Sea crossings grow as funding falls short

More than 3,000 Yemeni refugees have reached Djibouti, where UNHCR is working with authorities and partners to support people arriving daily, and hundreds have landed in Somaliland and Puntland. Daily arrivals in Djibouti have surpassed the previous daily peak recorded since 2015, prompting preparations for more than 10,000 arrivals. Sea conditions are expected to improve by mid-October, potentially making further crossings possible for people seeking safety across the Gulf of Aden.

Funding shortages threaten the response on both sides of the crossing: UNHCR's Yemen operation is only 18 per cent funded in 2026, receiving $34 million against the $194 million required before the latest escalation. An estimated $25 million is urgently needed to assist about 231,000 people with immediate needs. The Djibouti operation is just 15 per cent funded, and UNHCR and humanitarian partners are appealing for $13.5 million to provide registration, reception, protection and other essential services as renewed fighting exposes more civilians to displacement and suffering.