Key facts
- Over 2,000 people have fled Yemen to Djibouti this week due to intensified fighting.
- The International Organization for Migration is providing water and hot meals to arrivals in Obock, Djibouti.
- Djibouti's economy and finance minister reported approximately 1,400 Yemenis arrived in Djibouti within a 24-hour period.
- The Houthi offensive has led to the capture of Yemen's Red Sea coast and islands around the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
- The IOM stated that 76,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since July, with numbers quadrupling in the past week.
More than 2,000 people have arrived in Djibouti this week after fleeing an escalation in fighting between Houthi fighters and government forces in Yemen, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday. The UN's migration agency is providing immediate assistance, including water and hot meals, to those arriving in Obock, a city located about 20 kilometers across the Bab al-Mandeb strait from the Yemeni coast. The IOM noted that more support is needed.
Djibouti's economy and finance minister, Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, stated on Saturday that approximately 1,400 people had fled Yemen for Djibouti within a 24-hour period. He also mentioned in a separate post on Friday that 500 refugees, including women and children, arrived in Obock after their boats ran out of fuel while crossing the strait. Obock has been a primary arrival point for refugees from war-torn Yemen for several years.
The Houthi offensive, which culminated in the group capturing the remainder of Yemen's Red Sea coast and several strategic islands, has cemented their hold on the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The group took control of the port city of Mokha on Thursday. According to the UN, at least 76,000 people have been displaced in Yemen by the fighting since July, a figure that has quadrupled in the last week due to the renewed hostilities. Djibouti currently hosts tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers, with UN Refugee Agency figures from March 2026 showing a registered population of over 36,000, primarily from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Yemen.