About 1,400 people fled Yemen for Djibouti within 24 hours, according to Djibouti’s economy and finance minister, Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh. The arrivals come as Houthi fighters tighten their grip on the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.
Dawaleh said 500 refugees, including women and children, reached the coastal city of Obock on Friday after being rescued at sea when their boats ran out of fuel while crossing the strait.
Obock receives vulnerable arrivals
Safiya Ibrahim, humanitarian response coordinator for the International Organization for Migration, said vulnerable groups including women and children had reached Obock and that more people were expected in the coming days.
Obock lies about 20 kilometres across the water from the Yemeni coast and has been a preferred arrival point for people seeking refuge from Yemen’s war. The Bab-el-Mandeb is also used by migrants from the Horn of Africa travelling through Yemen toward Gulf countries.
Fighting has displaced tens of thousands
The IOM said 76,000 people had been displaced by fighting in Yemen since July. The organisation said the total quadrupled after a renewed escalation in hostilities.
Djibouti hosts tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. United Nations Refugee Agency figures from March 2026 recorded more than 36,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, with most coming from Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen.
Houthi advance reshapes the coastline
The Houthis seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday and have since overrun coastline and islands around the Bab-el-Mandeb, according to the reported account of the offensive. Read the context: Houthi forces say they have seized Mocha as Yemen fighting widens.
The advance has forced thousands of families to flee, with entire villages reportedly emptied in the districts of Maqbanah, Jabal Habashi and al-Maafer.
What happens next
The IOM says more arrivals are expected in the coming days, while Djibouti is receiving people arriving from Yemen by sea.
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