Over 82,000 displaced from Yemen’s western coast since early September: UN migration agency

More than 82,000 people have been displaced from Yemen’s western coastal provinces since the beginning of September due to ongoing fighting, including more than 2,000 who have reached Djibouti, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Sunday, Anadolu reports.

The IOM said in a statement that it had recorded 82,164 displaced people since the beginning of September alone, as fighting continues along Yemen’s western coast in the provinces of Taiz, Al Hudaydah and Lahj.

“Over 2,000 people fleeing the hostilities have reached Djibouti’s northern shores so far, landing at scattered points along the coast near Obock,” it added.

Earlier Sunday, Djibouti’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Diaa-Eddin Bamakhrama, said around 1,400 Yemenis had arrived in the country over the previous 24 hours because of the escalation in Yemen’s western coastal areas.

“Djiboutian authorities are leading the response, mobilizing the Navy, army, police and health services, with support from IOM and UN partners,” the UN agency said.

Those arriving, including many women and young children, have been transferred to the Markazi site in Obock, where they are receiving water, high-energy biscuits and hot meals, it said.

“More are expected to flee as fighting intensifies,” it warned.

“Behind every number is a family who’s lost everything. Many have been displaced multiple times,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said in the statement.

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“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,” she added.

Pope called on donors to scale up support for arrivals in Djibouti and for local communities in Obock hosting them.

On Saturday, the IOM said Taiz had been the hardest-hit province in the latest displacement wave, with 8,300 families, or around 50,000 people, displaced from various districts, including Jabal Habashi, Al-Maafer, Maqbanah, Mawza and Al-Waziiyah.

It also recorded the displacement of 2,819 families, nearly 17,000 people, in Lahj; 1,374 families (8,100 people) in Al Hudaydah; and 191 families (1,100 people) in Aden.

The agency warned that displacement numbers were “rising rapidly” as fighting intensified and said they were expected to increase further in the coming days.

Clashes between government forces and the Houthis have intensified since early July 2026 after years of relative calm.

In recent days, Yemen’s battlefield map has seen major shifts amid escalating fighting between government forces and the Houthis.

The Houthi group has announced control of several districts in Al Hudaydah and Taiz along the western coast, as well as islands in the Red Sea.

According to matching Houthi and media reports, the districts claimed by the group include Hays and Al-Khawkhah in Al Hudaydah, and Al-Wazi’iyah, Mawza, Mocha, Dhubab and the remaining parts of Maqbanah in Taiz.

Government forces, meanwhile, have announced advances in the northern province of Al-Jawf near the Saudi border and said they had moved closer to Al-Hazm, the provincial capital, parts of which remain under Houthi control.

Overall, the Houthis control most of northern and western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and the provinces of Dhamar, Al-Bayda, Ibb, Al-Mahwit and Al Hudaydah, as well as most of Hajjah and Saada and areas in Taiz, Lahj and Al-Dhalea.

Government forces and allied groups control the interim capital Aden, Al-Mahra, Hadramout, Shabwa and Abyan, as well as most of Lahj, Taiz and Al-Dhalea.

Yemen has been at war since the Houthis seized Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led Arab coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.

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