1,400 Yemenis Flee To Djibouti Amid Houthi Advance – Reports

About 1,400 people have fled Yemen for Djibouti within 24 hours as Houthi fighters tighten their control over the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

According to Al Jazeera, Djibouti’s Economy and Finance Minister Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh said on Saturday that the latest arrivals included people escaping the escalating conflict in Yemen.

“1,400 refugees arrived in Djibouti from Yemen in just 24 hours,” Dawaleh wrote on X.

The minister had disclosed in a separate post on Friday that about 500 refugees, including women and children, had arrived in the coastal city of Obock after being rescued at sea when their boats ran out of fuel while crossing the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

Obock, located about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Yemeni coast, has for years served as a major arrival point for people fleeing the conflict in Yemen.

The strategic Bab-el-Mandeb waterway is also used by migrants travelling in the opposite direction from the Horn of Africa through Yemen towards Gulf countries.

Safiya Ibrahim, humanitarian response coordinator for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said vulnerable people were among those reaching Obock.

“vulnerable groups such as women and children have reached the shores of Obock, with more expected in the coming days,” Ibrahim told AFP.

Read Also: President of Djibouti Ismail Omar-Guelleh wins fifth term

The IOM said on Saturday that fighting in Yemen had displaced about 76,000 people since July, with the number increasing fourfold following a renewed escalation in hostilities.

Djibouti currently hosts tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers, with United Nations Refugee Agency figures from March 2026 putting the registered population at more than 36,000.

Most of those registered are from Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen.

The latest displacement comes amid a rapid Houthi offensive along Yemen’s western coastline.

The Houthis seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday before expanding their control over the coastline and islands around the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The offensive has triggered the displacement of thousands of families, with entire villages reportedly emptied in areas including Maqbanah, Jabal Habashi and al-Maafer.