Thousands of people in Yemen are fleeing across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to the African country of Djibouti as the war in the Middle East expands and the Iran-backed Houthi militia fights Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.Nearly 3,000 people, more than half women and children, have fled Yemen in less than a week amid intensified fighting between the two sides, according to the U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees. The report said thousands more people are waiting to cross the narrow waterway that has become the center of fighting.”At reception centres in Djibouti, new arrivals recount fearing for their lives in Yemen having fled sudden bombardment, shelling and gunfire,” the UNHCR said in its press release. “Mothers quickly gathered their children and whatever they could carry before heading to the coast and boarding small boats.”More than 100,000 people have already been internally displaced, according to UNICEF, and UNHCR said it was preparing for an additional 10,000 people to make their way to Djibouti.Fighting between the Houthis and government forces restarted in recent weeks after breaking a truce that was signed in April 2022.
The fight this time centered on the Houthis beginning to target Saudi oil tankers exiting the Red Sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in solidarity with Iran’s blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.Houthi forces quickly overran the army of the internationally recognized Yemeni government and took control of the coastal city of Mokha, which overlooks the strait, earlier this week.
