Over 1,400 Yemenis Flee to Djibouti in 24 Hours Amid Escalating Red Sea Conflict

Yemeni refugees arrive in Obock, Djibouti, fleeing the intensifying conflict around the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Published On 13 Sep 202613 Sep 2026

Over 1,400 individuals have fled Yemen and crossed into Djibouti within a single 24-hour period, according to Djibouti’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh. The mass exodus comes as Houthi fighters tighten their strategic grip on the vital Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Taking to social media platform X on Saturday, the minister confirmed the arrival of 1,400 refugees in just one day, highlighting the severe humanitarian toll of the intensifying conflict. In a separate post on Friday, Dawaleh noted that 500 refugees—including vulnerable women and children—had reached the coastal city of Obock after being rescued at sea when their boats ran out of fuel while crossing the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

Located just 20 kilometers (12 miles) across the water from the Yemeni coast, Obock has long served as a preferred arrival point for those seeking refuge from war-torn Yemen. The Bab-el-Mandeb strait is also heavily utilized in the opposite direction by migrants from the Horn of Africa transit through Yemen on their way to Gulf countries.

Safiya Ibrahim, humanitarian response coordinator for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told AFP that “vulnerable groups such as women and children have reached the shores of Obock, with more expected in the coming days.”

The IOM warned last Friday that at least 46,000 people had been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated the previous week. “Families are being forced to flee for the second or third time in this conflict, with almost nothing left,” Amy Pope, the IOM director general, said in a statement. “As fighting spreads, reaching people with lifesaving assistance is becoming harder. We urgently need safe, unimpeded access.”

Djibouti hosts tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. United Nations Refugee Agency figures from March 2026 show a registered population of more than 36,000, with the majority hailing from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Yemen.

The Houthis seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday and have since overrun the coastline and islands surrounding the Bab al-Mandeb strait. The rapid offensive has forced thousands of families to flee, with entire villages reportedly emptied in districts such as Maqbanah, Jabal Habashi, and al-Maafer.

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