Around 30,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in Yemen in recent days, coinciding with the advance of the Houthi rebel militias towards the strategic Bab el Mandeb strait. With this new exodus, the total number of internally displaced persons due to the conflict in the Arab country would already rise to about 76,000 people.
The data has been disseminated by the Displacement Tracking Matrix of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which has warned of a "rapid worsening of the displacement crisis" in Yemeni territory.
"The numbers have almost doubled in one night. It is four times the number from last week as fighting intensifies. Entire families have had to leave, often at night. They have no safe place to go," the IOM has warned.
The province of Taiz is under the greatest pressure, with nearly 50,000 displaced persons spread across areas such as Jabal Habashi, Al Maafer, Maqbaná, Mauza, or Al Waziriya. Next is Lahj, which records nearly 17,000 displaced persons, mainly from Al Mudaribá, while Hodeida counts about 8,000 and Aden around 1,100.
"Many of these families had to flee previously during the twelve years of conflict, some several times. They are exhausted. They have no resources. Most flee with nothing, just what they are wearing. They leave behind home, life, and any sense of stability," the IOM has highlighted.
According to the organization, the situation "deteriorates day by day" and all indications point to the number of displaced persons continuing to rise in the coming days, in a context described as "volatile and unpredictable."
The IOM teams are already on the ground distributing essential items, emergency shelters, and hygiene kits, but they acknowledge that "the needs are much greater than what we can provide." Therefore, the agency has launched an urgent appeal to the international community for support "before the crisis worsens further."