Thousands of Yemenis have taken shelter in northern Djibouti after fleeing by boat from Houthi‑controlled areas across the Bab al‑Mandab Strait, as reported by the BBC’s Frank Gardner, who interviewed some of the refugees in northern Africa.
Several of the refugees interviewed by Gardner are from Dhubab, a town situated on the front line of the war between the Houthis and Saudi‑backed pro‑government Yemeni forces, the BBC noted.
“How could I just sit there when my kids are screaming and shaking in terror?” Ibrahim Issa, a 50‑year‑old fisherman, told Gardner. “When the sound of the planes starts, and the kids hear the planes, they begin shouting and screaming. As parents, it is our responsibility; what can you do when you see this? That is why we fled, to save them.”
Gardner added that several refugees gave him the same message: “We don’t care which side it is that’s attacking. It’s the bombs falling all around us that have caused us to flee.”
The refugees’ accounts come as the conflict in Yemen continues to escalate, with the United States considering further military options against the Houthis.
U.S. President Donald Trump came close to ordering a new American military campaign against the Houthis in Yemen this weekend, after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally urged him to intervene, but called off the planned strikes as they were nearing execution, The New York Times reported.
According to the report, Trump had spent roughly two weeks weighing repeated Saudi appeals for U.S. military assistance against the Iran‑backed Houthis, whose renewed offensive has expanded the conflict in Yemen and increased pressure on Saudi Arabia.
Trump had told advisers on Wednesday that he did not favor launching strikes. But after speaking with bin Salman on Thursday, he reversed course and instructed the Pentagon to prepare airstrikes against Houthi targets, according to administration officials cited by the NYT.
By midday Sunday, however, Trump had changed his mind again. The planned U.S. strikes were halted at a late stage, when military commanders had already approved target lists, troops were loading bombs onto aircraft selected for the operation, and the first wave of attacks was close to beginning, according to people briefed on the planning.
Idan Kweller contributed to this report.
