A total of 129,438 people have been forced to leave their homes in seven provinces of Yemen since the beginning of September, due to the intensification of clashes between Houthi rebel militias and forces aligned with the Yemeni government recognized by the international community.
"Nearly 130,000 people have had to flee their homes in recent weeks. Many of them have had to flee more than once in search of safety," explained Othman Belbeisi, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN agency specialized in human displacement.
The new balance reflects an increase of 11,352 displaced persons compared to the previous count, released on Friday, September 18. "The numbers continue to rise," warned Belbeisi, emphasizing the speed with which the humanitarian crisis is worsening.
The governorate of Taiz concentrates the largest volume of people forced to leave their homes, with 73,494 displaced, followed by Lahj, with 33,828. Next are Aden, with 8,946; Hodeida, with 8,244; Abyan, with 3,324; Hadramut, with 1,008, and Marib, with 594.
The settlement with the most displaced is the Yabal Habashi camp in Taiz, which houses more than 23,000 people, while the Al Madariba wa Al Aará camp in Lahj hosts about 21,500, reflecting the enormous pressure on these improvised facilities.
"These families who have lost their homes and their livelihoods arrive in places where they are already struggling. Host communities share what little they have, but they cannot do it alone. We need support now for the people who have fled and for those who are hosting them," Belbeisi stated, calling for more international aid.
In addition, the IOM has registered 3,106 people who have crossed the Red Sea to reach Djibouti, where the organization is also providing humanitarian assistance to these displaced persons.
The Houthis launched an offensive on September 3 in areas of the provinces of Taiz and Hodeida and, since then, have made significant territorial gains, including the control of the city of Mocha and other strategic enclaves on the Red Sea coast, which represents a severe setback for the internationally recognized authorities.
These military advances reinforce the rebels' ability to influence maritime traffic in Bab el Mandeb —something they have already promised not to do— a step whose relevance has increased after the disruptions in transit through the Strait of Hormuz following the offensive launched on February 28 by the United States and Israel against Iran.
The current escalation puts at risk the fragile ceasefire agreed upon in 2022, after years of war, and threatens to frustrate the mediation efforts driven by the United Nations to reach a political agreement that ends the conflict that began in 2014, responsible for one of the most serious crises at the international level.