Nearly 50,000 flee in Yemen as Houthi forces advance along Red Sea coast
A sudden Houthi offensive in western Yemen has displaced nearly 50,000 people, reviving fears of a return to full-scale civil war. The fighting also threatens one of the world's most vital shipping routes near the Bab al-Mandab strait.
Iran-backed Houthi militants have rapidly seized a string of towns along Yemen's Red Sea coast this week, including the strategic port city of Mocha, historically known as the birthplace of the global coffee trade. The advance came against forces aligned with the US- and Saudi-backed Yemeni government, with hundreds reportedly killed in the fighting.
The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that 46,000 people had been displaced across the governorates of Taiz and Hodeidah. For many families, this marks the second or third time they have been forced from their homes. Fighting has cut off major roads and disrupted phone service in some areas, forcing residents to flee suddenly with only a few belongings.
Joe Lowry, IOM's spokesperson for the Middle East and north Africa, said the most urgent needs include emergency shelter, cash assistance, food, drinking water and healthcare. He said civilians are bearing the brunt of renewed frontline warfare, airstrikes and shelling, and that the fast-changing situation is making it difficult for aid workers to maintain access.
A dangerous strait nearby
By seizing coastal areas and offshore islands, the Houthis are gaining a more direct presence near the Bab al-Mandab strait, a critical trade and energy corridor linking Asia and Europe. Should the Houthis manage to close the chokepoint, ships would be forced to reroute around the southern tip of Africa, adding thousands of nautical miles to voyages. The fighting has already helped push oil prices above $100 a barrel, up from around $80 in recent weeks.
UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg told an emergency Security Council meeting that the country has entered "a new and more dangerous phase of war," warning it could end more than four years of relative calm since the 2022 UN-brokered truce. According to the UN, roughly half of Yemen's 40 million people face acute food insecurity.
