More than 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes since fighting in Yemen began in recent weeks, according to data released on Wednesday by the United Nations' International Organization for Migration.
Houthi supporters gather in solidarity with the movement as fighting escalates across several fronts, in Sanaa, Yemen, October 7, 2026. Reuters/Mohammed al-Mahdi
More than 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes since fighting in Yemen began in recent weeks, according to data released on Wednesday by the United Nations' International Organization for Migration.
IOM described the crisis sparked by renewed fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen as alarming, with displacement figures surging from 76,000 in mid-September to more than 200,000 as of Wednesday — nearly all of whom fled since fighting began in early September.
"People are running for their lives and finding nowhere safe to go," said IOM Director General Amy Pope, who called for more funding amid rising needs for food and shelter.
Yemen is experiencing the most serious escalation in fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border attacks in 2022. The renewed conflict could reshape control in Yemen, with implications for Red Sea shipping lanes.
The Houthis, who already control most of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa, seized the country's entire Red Sea coast last month from Saudi-backed forces of the internationally recognised government, based in the southern port of Aden.
People have been displaced across 10 governorates, with Ta'iz the hardest hit.
More than 3,700 people have also fled by sea to Djibouti, IOM said.
On Friday the UN World Food Programme said that three in four families in parts of Yemen were going hungry from the "absolutely devastating" impact of a surge in fighting.
By Olivia Le Poidevin
Houthis attacked the international airport in the southern Yemeni town of Aden with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones early on Wednesday, Yemen's Transport Ministry said, as fighting intensified across several fronts between the Iran-aligned group and Saudi-backed government forces.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said “Three years ago, on October 7th, Hamas tried to break us. They did not.”
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have staged a counteroffensive to retake the coast around the Bab el-Mandeb shipping route and other strategic territory seized last month by the Iran-aligned Houthis, in a complex conflict with shifting alliances.
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