More than 2,000 Yemenis flee to Djibouti after Houthi capture of key port city

More than 2,000 people fleeing Houthi rebels in Yemen have arrived in Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration said on Sunday.

Last week, Iran-backed Houthis captured a key port city on Yemen’s western coast and an island in the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The strait is a vital shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. Fearing a return to civil war, tens of thousands of residents fled the area.

Now some have started arriving in Djibouti, some 30 kilometers across the strait.

Authorities in Djibouti say the country's navy, coast guard and other agencies are conducting rescue operations in the strait and providing emergency assistance.

”This is the second time in my life that I've been displaced," said Hussein Haydara, who was displaced from Hodeidah.

"During the previous displacement, we had planned and prepared for it. This time, we were forced to flee suddenly. You could barely take your children and the fewest essentials with you. We were terrified of the shelling and sniper fire, and you just flee as quickly as you can out of fear for your children and your family members.”

The IOM says the number of those displaced in Yemen has reached nearly 86,000 people, with over 82,000 since the beginning of September alone.

The recent escalation in fighting has ended a 2022 ceasefire that had largely stopped the country’s devastating civil war.