Conflict & Security
Yemen fighting forces at least 46,000 to flee, UN says
The UN migration agency said at least 46,000 people have been displaced since fighting escalated in Yemen last week, more than double the roughly 18,500 it reported on Tuesday.
The International Organization for Migration said the displacement had taken place across Yemen's west coast and Taiz areas. It said the number was rising and pointed to reports of many people leaving Mocha with their belongings overnight to Friday.
The Iran-backed Houthis, who have controlled large parts of northern Yemen for years, launched a large-scale offensive last week against Saudi-backed government forces. The fighting has left hundreds dead.
The Houthis seized the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday, then took a key island in the Bab al-Mandab strait on Friday. Saudi Arabia has responded with dozens of airstrikes, and Houthi media reported Friday that two latest strikes hit Mocha airport.
The IOM said people also appeared to be moving north. It said entire villages were reported to have emptied west of Taiz and that the Mocha-Taiz road, a key supply route, had reportedly been cut.
IOM chief Amy Pope said that as fighting spreads, reaching people with lifesaving assistance is becoming harder. She called for safe, unimpeded access and said all parties must protect civilians, humanitarian workers and aid supplies.
Earlier accounts from sources on both sides said more than 500 people had been killed in the renewed clashes, most of them combatants. The fighting follows the collapse in July of a fragile truce between the Houthis and Yemen's government.
Update
The Houthis seized a key island in the Bab al-Mandab strait on Friday after taking Mocha on Thursday.
Houthi media reported that two latest Saudi strikes hit Mocha airport.
The IOM said reports indicated large numbers of people left Mocha overnight to Friday and that people appeared to be moving north.
The IOM said entire villages were reported to have emptied west of Taiz and that the Mocha-Taiz road had reportedly been cut.
IOM chief Amy Pope said spreading fighting was making lifesaving aid harder to deliver and called for safe, unimpeded access.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 10:40:52 UTC.
Update
The UN said at least 46,000 people have fled escalating fighting in Yemen.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 09:46:11 UTC.
Update
The International Organization for Migration said nearly 20,000 people had fled renewed fighting in southwest Yemen.
A Hodeida displacement camp official said about 7,500 people had sought refuge in the Hays and Khokha districts alone.
The item gives accounts from displaced people who fled shelling and gunfire in Hodeida province.
Source note: AFP news report published on 9 September 2026 at 13:08:35 UTC.
Update
Sources from both sides told AFP that at least 216 government forces and 278 Houthi fighters had been killed since the clashes began.
The sources also said at least 29 civilians had been killed.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 15:18:23 UTC.
Update
Sources told AFP that more than 500 people have been killed since the Yemen clashes began last week.
Source note: AFP news report published on 8 September 2026 at 15:06:35 UTC.
Update
AFP journalists saw displaced people with mattresses, livestock and belongings setting up shelters in another camp in the Taiz area on Sunday.
Displaced residents Rawdhah Hasan and Nimah Saif described fleeing fighting and being unable to help people they saw injured or killed.
A spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was deeply concerned by the clashes and warned of devastating political, economic and security ramifications.
Source note: AFP news report published on 6 September 2026 at 20:07:33 UTC.
Update
A government military official said the Houthis cut off the road linking Taiz to Mokha on Saturday evening.
OCHA said an estimated 1,790 households had been displaced after intense shelling and clashes in Maqbanah and Jabal Habashi districts.
AFP journalists saw families arriving at Al-Bareen camp for internally displaced people with belongings in pickup trucks.
Displaced women from Maqbanah and Jabal Habashi described fleeing under fire and seeing casualties they could not help.
Analysts from Chatham House and New America said the offensive could threaten links around Taiz, Bab al-Mandab and Mokha and risk further escalation.
Source note: AFP news report published on 6 September 2026 at 16:15:54 UTC.
Update
An AFP tally based on military and medical sources from both sides says more than 300 combatants and some civilians have been killed since the Houthi assault began on Thursday.
A government military official said fighting had subsided in the early hours of Sunday.
A government military official said government forces established positions north of Hays after advancing in the area.
The same official said the Houthis had advanced west of Taiz, south of Hays, in their push toward Bab al-Mandab.
Source note: AFP news report published on 6 September 2026 at 14:06:21 UTC.
Update
Military sources said more than 140 combatants were killed between midday Saturday, September 5, and early Sunday, September 6.
Two military officials with Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces said 84 government troops were killed, mostly in missile attacks.
Four Houthi military sources said 57 rebel fighters were killed in the same period.
Source note: AFP news report published on 6 September 2026 at 13:13:59 UTC.
Update
A military official said Saudi Arabia carried out three airstrikes on positions recently captured by the Houthis in Taiz.
A Taiz military officer said Houthis had seized positions near the city a day earlier and that reinforcements were arriving from Aden.
The item states Friday's fighting killed 129 people, according to an AFP tally from several sources.
A government official blamed the bus missile strike on the Houthis.
The fighting is described as part of a push toward Mokha and areas bordering the Bab al-Mandab strait.
Source note: AFP news report published on 5 September 2026 at 11:50:45 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The precise and current number of displaced people may be higher, as the IOM said the figure was rising.
Reports that entire villages emptied and that the Mocha-Taiz road was cut were not stated as independently confirmed.
The latest Saudi strikes on Mocha airport were reported by Houthi media.
Source
AFP news report published on .