Yemen fighting could send 10,000 to Djibouti, UN says

Renewed fighting in Yemen could push more than 10,000 people to flee across the Red Sea to Djibouti in the coming months, the United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday.

UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said more than 3,000 people had already reached Djibouti in a week. He said the agency expected arrivals to rise, especially after mid-October, when difficult sea conditions are expected to improve.

Baloch also said the number of people displaced inside Yemen by the latest fighting could rise from more than 130,000 now to more than 230,000. He said this would come on top of more than 5.2 million people who were already internally displaced before the fighting reignited.

UNHCR said Yemen has an estimated 22 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. The agency said its Yemen operation was 18 percent funded for 2026 and that $25 million was urgently needed to provide immediate aid to about 231,000 people.

UNHCR said its Djibouti operation was 15 percent funded and appealed for $13.5 million to help arrivals access registration, reception, protection and other essential services.