More than 112,000 people are internally displaced in Yemen and nearly 3,000 have fled by boat to Djibouti as fighting intensifies. Humanitarian agencies warn resources are running out and roughly 22 million Yemenis need urgent aid. Thousands of vulnerable people — including an estimated 2,000 pregnant women — are on the move while Djibouti faces mounting pressure.
Humanitarian Alarm: 112,000+ Displaced in Yemen as Thousands Flee by Sea to Djibouti
The Al-Farsi camp for internally displaced people in Ras Imran in southern Yemen, September 17, 2026 [Mohamad Hakim/AFP]
More than 112,000 people have been forced from their homes inside Yemen and nearly 3,000 have crossed by boat to Djibouti, the United Nations says, as fighting escalates between Iran-aligned Houthi forces and Saudi-backed troops loyal to the internationally recognised government.
"Our resources are very, very, very limited and our stocks will be depleted very soon,"Abdusattor Esoev, mission chief in Yemen for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told reporters.
Most of the internally displaced were uprooted in the past two weeks, concentrated along Yemen's west coast and in the provinces of Taiz and Lahj, after a rapid Houthi advance that took control of the country's Red Sea coastline. Observers say the move strengthens Houthi control over the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Esoev warned that an estimated 22 million Yemenis — nearly half the population — now require urgent humanitarian assistance. More than 65,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers in Yemen, primarily from Somalia and Ethiopia, are also at risk as the crisis deepens.
Francesco Galtieri, a UN Population Fund (UNFPA) representative, said the situation is worsening "by the hour," and noted that thousands of women who have lost everything are fleeing with their children. He estimated about 2,000 pregnant women are among the displaced and roughly 200 are expected to give birth in the near term.
The UNHCR reports that around 2,400 people completed the boat crossing to Djibouti in the past week — mostly women, children and older people. The shortest crossing of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait is just over 25 kilometres.
Djibouti, a country of roughly one million people, already hosts about 36,000 refugees, mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia, and the new arrivals are adding fresh strain, UNHCR representative Sandrine Desamours said. "While the number may sound small," she added, "it must be seen in proportion to the population."
The Bab al-Mandeb links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and has taken on renewed strategic significance amid wider regional tensions that have disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Photo caption: The Al-Farsi camp for internally displaced people in Ras Imran in southern Yemen, September 17, 2026 [Mohamad Hakim/AFP]
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