Over 46,000 Displaced as Fighting Escalates in Yemen, Says UN

More than 46,000 people have been forced from their homes in Yemen following a sharp escalation in fighting between Houthi rebels and government forces, with the number of displaced people rising rapidly.

Al Jazeera reported that the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said the figure was increasing “by the hour” as the Houthis expanded their control along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.

The UN agency called on all sides to ensure safe humanitarian access and protect civilians, aid workers and humanitarian facilities.

“Families are being forced to flee for the second or third time in this conflict, with almost nothing left,” IOM chief Amy Pope said in a statement.

The latest displacement follows the Houthis’ capture of Mocha, a strategically important Red Sea port city, from forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

The IOM said residents fled the city overnight with their belongings, while reports indicated that entire villages had also been abandoned in parts of the war-torn country.

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The UN separately raised concerns after the Houthis seized a key humanitarian compound and its assets in Mocha.

“The compound houses staff of UN agencies working to provide humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities in the area,” UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.

Haq said all UN personnel had left the compound before it was seized and were “safe and accounted for”.

He stressed that humanitarian personnel, premises and assets “must be respected and protected at all times”, while urging all parties to guarantee safe and unhindered access for aid operations.

The latest escalation has deepened fears over Yemen’s already severe humanitarian crisis, with the Houthis now controlling the country’s entire Red Sea coast and extending their presence towards the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Farea Al-Muslimi, a Yemen researcher at London-based Chatham House, told Al Jazeera that the renewed fighting would worsen conditions for a population already facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

“Yemen was already going through one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world,” Al-Muslimi said.

“It got terribly worse after the Houthis cracked down on aid organisations in northern Yemen. But the war continued despite the fragile truce, and what that meant was the destruction of what remained of the economy, with millions of families left without income,” he said.

Al-Muslimi warned that the latest escalation “will create two new crises”, including further displacement, noting that “we’ve already seen more than 10,000 families displaced in the last week alone”.

He said the other major concern was rising prices for goods across Yemen.

“Since this is [happening in] a maritime [trade] corridor, it will, for sure, drive further violence inside Yemen, but also from outside Yemen,” Al-Muslimi added.

“The Yemeni population will continue to suffer, first and foremost, more than anyone else, inside or outside the country.”