More than 82,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of September as renewed fighting threatens to push the country into another extensive phase of civil war.
The displacement figure was reported by the United Nations migration agency as forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government launched counterattacks against Iran-backed Houthi fighters along the Red Sea coast.
The offensive followed major government losses, including the Houthi capture of the strategic port city of Mokha and positions surrounding the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Government forces reported airstrikes against Houthi positions in Mokha, Dhubab and other parts of Taiz province.
The Houthis separately reported strikes in Taiz and artillery fire in Saada, their northern stronghold. Information from territories controlled by the opposing forces remains difficult to verify independently.
A government-allied force said more than 500 of its fighters had been killed on Yemen’s western coast during the preceding four weeks. It claimed that more than 1,000 Houthi fighters had been killed in Hodeida and Taiz.
Those battlefield casualty figures have not been independently verified, and the Houthis did not immediately respond to the claims.
The conflict has also affected neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities activated warning sirens in Abha and Khamis Mushait amid concerns about incoming missiles and drones.
Saudi civil-defence officials said a projectile struck another area near the Yemeni border, injuring two people and damaging a mosque and several buildings. Saudi Arabia blamed the Houthis.
The humanitarian consequences are spreading across the Red Sea. More than 2,000 Yemenis have reached Djibouti after making the dangerous maritime crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Djiboutian authorities said the country’s navy, coast guard and specialised agencies were conducting rescue operations and providing emergency assistance.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and is an important corridor for international cargo and energy shipments. Its strategic value has increased as insecurity also affects passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
