Yemen Conflict Severely Restricts Humanitarian Access for Refugees, UNHCR Warns

In a new alert, the UN refugee agency warned that tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers are struggling to survive amid a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis. More than 65,000 displaced people in Yemen face “escalating insecurity, economic collapse, depleting resources, and severe humanitarian access constraints,” leaving them with nowhere to turn, according to UNHCR.

Despite intensified fighting between Houthi forces and government troops—which shattered a four-year ceasefire last month—thousands continue to risk perilous sea crossings from the Horn of Africa to reach Yemen, said UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh.

Access Heavily Restricted

Aid teams are particularly concerned about the situation at the Kharaz refugee camp in the southwestern governorate of Lahj, situated near active front lines. The camp shelters roughly 9,500 refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia in a government-controlled area. While no refugee casualties have been verified, nearby shelling has disrupted services and imposed movement restrictions on a population that has already fled conflict once before, Mr. Saltmarsh noted.

UNHCR partners have managed to distribute food inside the camp in coordination with local authorities, and health assistance and water provision continue, albeit with significant difficulty. However, most other services remain suspended: schools are closed, legal and documentation services are interrupted, and soaring fuel and food prices are making it increasingly difficult for refugees to meet basic needs.

“When access allows, we do move in that assistance, but it has been challenging,” Mr. Saltmarsh said. “We’ve been hearing that a number of displaced people have been unable to reach locations where we have supplies… in many cases, it’s simply too dangerous for us to get to them.”

According to UNHCR, more than 280,000 people in Yemen have been displaced by the recent fighting. This surge in humanitarian needs coincides with severe supply chain disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, linked to regional tensions, while resources available for the response are falling drastically short. Currently, the agency’s appeal for Yemen is only 19 percent funded.

Relief Supplies En Route

In a positive development, the agency announced it has secured pro bono transport for 11 containers of emergency relief items from Dubai to Yemen, though “shifting security conditions and logistical constraints are challenging those delivery efforts,” Mr. Saltmarsh cautioned.

“Those 11 containers should arrive tomorrow, bringing 3,000 relief kits to over 20,000 people in Yemen,” he added, before warning that UNHCR operations in Sudan, Djibouti, and Ethiopia are among the most exposed to disrupted trade and shipping routes in the Red Sea.

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