More than 2,000 people fleeing renewed fighting in Yemen have arrived in Djibouti, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
The arrivals followed the capture of a key port city on Yemen’s western coast and an island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by Iran-backed Houthi rebels last week.
The escalation has triggered fears of a return to full-scale civil war, forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee their homes.
Some of those displaced have crossed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Djibouti, which is about 30 kilometres from Yemen.
Djibouti authorities said the navy, coast guard and other agencies were conducting rescue operations in the strait and providing emergency assistance to the arrivals.
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One of the displaced persons, Hussein Haydara, who fled Hodeidah, said it was the second time he had been forced to leave his home.
Haydara said the latest displacement was sudden, leaving families with little time to gather their belongings as they fled shelling and sniper fire.
The IOM said the number of people displaced by the renewed violence in Yemen had reached nearly 86,000, with more than 82,000 displaced since the beginning of September.
The latest escalation has effectively ended a ceasefire that had largely held since 2022, after years of civil war in the country.
Africanews
