WorldPosted at: Sep 15 2026 11:25PM


Panic consumes Yemen as 100,000 flee after Houthis seize control of Red Sea coast

Sanaa, Sep 15 (UNI) Panic has spread in the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government areas in Yemen as Houthi forces seized territory along the country’s Red Sea coast, expanding their control and hold over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping routes for goods and commodities, including oil.
The renewed fighting has internally displaced more than 100,000 people from their homes, according to the UN refugee agency on Tuesday, with thousands more fleeing Yemen by sea for Djibouti.
The Iran-backed Houthis have captured more islands in the southern Red Sea, strengthening their control of the major maritime shipping route, officials said.
In the latest round of fighting, the Iran-aligned Houthis have expanded beyond the northern, most heavily populated parts of Yemen to towns, cities and islands along the western coast.
The escalation has opened another front in the wider Iran war and added pressure to global energy markets following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis have also stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia.
As part of the group's swift advance, the Houthis have captured the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish around the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, a key passage for oil shipments that has become even more crucial during the Iran war as the Strait of Hormuz remains under US and Iranian blockades.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait — on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula — is a chokepoint that connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, making it a key waterway for cargo traffic to the Mediterranean Sea.
For more than a month, the Houthis have been striking Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea, stepping up pressure on global oil prices and boosting Iran's leverage in its war with the US
At a displacement camp in Aden, families sat beside tents, tended sheep and tried to put together basic shelters. Children stayed close to their parents as adults carried what belongings they could salvage.
The International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix said displacement in Yemen had reached 85,818 people by Sunday, with 82,164 displaced since the beginning of September as fighting continued along the West Coast.
The figure has since risen to more than 100,000. Families have been forced to leave their homes, with some now fleeing the country altogether. More than 2,000 people escaping the fighting have reached Djibouti’s northern shores, landing at scattered points along the coast near Obock, according to the IOM.
Djiboutian authorities are leading the response, with the navy, army, police and health services mobilised alongside the IOM and other UN agencies.
Many of those arriving are women and young children. They have been taken to the Markazi site in Obock, where they are receiving water, high-energy biscuits and hot meals.
The IOM said more people were expected to flee as the fighting intensifies. “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.”
The West Coast and southern Taiz frontlines have seen a rapid escalation in fighting, with Taiz the worst affected. About 9,280 households, or nearly 56,000 people, have been displaced from districts including Jabal Habashy, Al Ma’afer, Maqbanah, Mawza and Al Wazi’iyah.
Lahj has recorded the next-highest displacement, with 3,225 households, or more than 19,000 people, forced from their homes, most of them from Al-Mudharibah district.
The numbers have risen in recent days.
In Al Hodeidah, 1,374 households, or more than 8,000 people, have been displaced, mainly from Hays.
Aden is hosting 424 households, or more than 2,500 displaced people.
Inside Yemen, families continue to flee repeatedly, with some being displaced for a second or third time during the country’s 12-year long civil war. Many have little left.
Roads are becoming increasingly difficult to access because of the fighting, while communications remain disrupted in affected areas, making it harder for aid agencies to reach displaced people and assess their needs.
UNI ANV RN
Tags: #Panic consumes Yemen as 100#000 flee after Houthis seize control of Red Sea coast
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