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Houthi Advance Displaces 85,818 People

Houthi control of Mokha threatens the Bab el-Mandeb shipping chokepoint.

Abdullah Qayid and his wife take refuge at a makeshift camp for internally displaced people, after fleeing their home during clashes between Iran-aligned Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, in Taiz province, Yemen September 13, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer
Aisha Muhammad cooks at a makeshift camp for internally displaced people after fleeing her home during clashes between Iran-aligned Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, in Taiz province, Yemen September 13, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
A view of a makeshift camp for people displaced by clashes between Iran-aligned Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, in Taiz province, Yemen September 13, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Stringer

Overview

  • IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix reports 85,818 people forced from their homes after a rapid surge of fighting along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and in Taiz.
  • More than 2,000 people have reached Djibouti’s Obock area by sea and are receiving urgent water, food and medical help from Djiboutian authorities, IOM and UN partners.
  • Fighting and Houthi gains have cut key routes such as the MokhaTaiz road, blocking supply lines and prompting IOM to suspend all operational movements for safety.
  • The World Health Organization says only about 60% of Yemen’s health facilities are fully functional as hospitals face a surge in trauma cases and rising civilian casualties.
  • The escalation deepens a long-running conflict that began with the 2014 Houthi seizure of Sanaa and risks wider regional impact by strengthening control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.