Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in Yemen following a rapid advance by Iran-backed Houthi rebels towards the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, raising fresh concerns over regional security and global shipping.
The International Organisation for Migration said at least 76,000 people had been displaced across Yemen since July as fighting between the Houthis and government forces intensified. The figure represents a sharp increase from about 46,000 recorded only days earlier.
Many of those displaced have sought refuge in Aden, where residents have opened their homes to families fleeing areas captured by the Houthis.
Among them is Alaa Ali Salem, who fled Mokha’s al-Khawkha district with his family.
“We set out in hysterical panic on a motorcycle, not knowing where we were heading,” Salem said, adding that the roads became heavily congested during their escape and his motorcycle overturned, injuring him, his wife and their children.
Another displaced resident, Durrah Ali Hassan, described the chaos during the fighting.
“We saw soldiers shouting for a retreat as bullets flew all around, and we had no idea what was happening,” she said after finding shelter at a relative’s home in Aden.
The latest Houthi advance has brought the group closer to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
The rebels captured the Red Sea port of Mokha on Thursday before taking control of Mayun, also known as Perim, an island located off Yemen’s coast, on Friday, according to two officials.
The rapid territorial gains have raised concerns over the security of commercial shipping through the waterway, particularly amid wider tensions in the Middle East.
The Bab el-Mandeb has become increasingly important for global energy and commercial flows following restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. However, Houthi attacks on Saudi-linked vessels have further complicated efforts to maintain secure maritime routes.
The Houthis already control large parts of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, and the western port city of Hodeida.
The group has sought to reassure shipowners that vessels not covered by its embargo on Saudi-linked shipping would remain safe, but its latest territorial gains have renewed concerns over potential disruptions to maritime traffic.
The escalation has also triggered a new wave of movement across the Red Sea.
Djibouti’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, said about 1,400 people had arrived in the country from Yemen within 24 hours as fighting intensified.
“1,400 refugees arrived in Djibouti from Yemen in just 24 hours,” he said in a post on X.
Djibouti, located across the Red Sea from Yemen, borders the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden.
Safiya Ibrahim, humanitarian response coordinator for the IOM, said vulnerable people, including women and children, had reached the shores of Obock in Djibouti, with more arrivals expected in the coming days.
The latest displacement adds to Yemen’s longstanding humanitarian crisis, with renewed fighting threatening to further worsen conditions for civilians already affected by years of conflict.
