Overcrowded boats, very little food, almost no water. That is how Yemeni families have been reaching Djibouti since the Houthis claimed the Red Sea port of Mokha in September. The International Organization for Migration counted more than 2,000 people arriving by sea in the first days of the exodus.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree announced the seizure of Mokha, describing it as a strategic coastal city. Government forces were still fighting for Mokha and for Dhubab, in western Taiz, according to Yemeni officials. The National Resistance Forces said 500 of their soldiers were killed and around 1,500 wounded between August 9 and September 10, and they claimed more than 1,000 Houthi casualties.
Where people are running
The IOM said more than 82,000 people had left their homes along the Red Sea coast since early September 2026, most of them from Taiz, Hudaydah and Lahij. Aden’s local authorities began setting up new camps in the Al-Bureiqa district, with room for between 3,000 and 5,000 people. Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh asked citizens to donate blood for hospitals treating the wounded.
The numbers kept climbing. By 18 September the IOM put the displacement inside Yemen at at least 112,000 people over two weeks, and nearly 3,000 had crossed to Djibouti in less than a week. Djibouti’s government said it was preparing for up to 10,000 arrivals and warned that its health and education services would be stretched. Smaller increases showed up in Somaliland and Puntland.
One UN description of the situation was blunt: “a crisis on top of multiple crises.”
A small town takes the weight
By mid-October the pressure had settled on Obock, a fishing town of 20,000 in Djibouti’s remote north. Nearly 4,000 Yemeni refugees reached it within a single week, Arab News reported. More than half were children, and most of the rest were women.
“A perfect storm in this part of Djibouti” is how UN resident coordinator Jose Barahona described it. Obock already struggled with drought and food insecurity before the boats arrived. The UN’s humanitarian appeal there targets $7 million, and only $2.8 million has come in. “Global funding for development and humanitarian assistance is decreasing,” Barahona said.
Djibouti, home to 1.2 million people, lets refugees move freely and work. For the families now sleeping in Obock, that open door is what the town can offer while the money stays short.
Sources
- Yemen displacement tops 82,000 as Red Sea clashes intensify
- Yemen conflict displaces 112,000 people inside country, thousands flee to Djibouti, UN migration agency says
- Djibouti faces 'perfect storm' as Yemenis flee fighting in Mokha, UN official warns
