Sana’a: More than 125,000 people have fled their homes in Yemen following renewed fighting along the Red Sea coast, according to UN humanitarian agencies. The latest displacement has added to an already severe humanitarian crisis in the country, with families facing shortages of food, shelter, healthcare and other basic necessities.
The renewed conflict has forced many Yemenis to leave their homes with little warning, carrying only whatever belongings they could take with them. Aid agencies say thousands of displaced families are now staying in overcrowded homes, makeshift shelters and displacement camps.
Families flee intense fighting
Abdel Gelil and her husband, Mohamed Thabet, are among those who fled the fighting and are now sheltering with relatives in the southwestern city of Taiz.
Thabet said the latest fighting was more intense than a previous battle that had forced the family to flee in 2017. He described shelling and shrapnel landing near their home.
The family initially travelled around five kilometres on foot before taking a vehicle for approximately 60 kilometres along mountain roads to reach Taiz.
After arriving, Abdel Gelil was examined by a doctor who told the family that her pregnancy had progressed to a concerning stage. The family was already anxious because she had previously suffered a miscarriage at a similar stage of pregnancy.
The couple is now living with extended family and can afford only two meals a day. They are concerned about whether Abdel Gelil is receiving sufficient nutrition during her pregnancy.
The family is also struggling to obtain medical care. Thabet said his sister had been unable to afford diabetes medication for more than a month. Her two daughters, aged eight and 13, also have a blood condition that makes them vulnerable to anaemia, he said.
More than 57,000 children among displaced
The United Nations humanitarian office has reported eight civilian deaths and 32 injuries linked to the renewed fighting. The estimated number of people forced to flee their homes has reached around 125,000.
UNICEF said more than 57,000 children are among those displaced.
“This is one of the most fast-moving and volatile displacement waves Yemen has seen in years,” said Obia Achieng, a UNICEF representative in Yemen.
According to Achieng, families are often fleeing with little or no warning, sometimes at night, carrying only essential belongings.
The latest displacement comes on top of an existing humanitarian emergency, with aid organisations already facing limited resources.
Food insecurity remains a major concern
Before the latest escalation, the United Nations had warned that around five million Yemenis were experiencing crisis-level or worse acute food insecurity.
Humanitarian organisations say the newly displaced are particularly vulnerable because many have arrived at camps without adequate food, water or shelter.
Milena Murr of Prosper Global, formerly known as Mercy Corps, said some people arriving in Taiz had walked for more than 16 hours. Many reportedly reached displacement camps exhausted and dehydrated, with some children showing signs of malnutrition.
CARE country director Iman Abdullahi said displaced families urgently require food, maternal and newborn healthcare, hygiene supplies, private sanitation facilities and mental health support.
Aid workers have also described difficult living conditions in the camps. One displaced woman reportedly had to wash her only set of clothes and remain inside her tent until they dried because she had no spare clothing. Another woman was forced to flee only two weeks after giving birth.
Families living without basic necessities
Nashwan Ahmed Said, who was stitching together a shelter using plastic wheat sacks, said he had been displaced for the third time since the beginning of Yemen’s war.
He described having no permanent home, toilet, food or drinking water.
Another displaced resident, Arwa Ahmed, said she had fled with her five children and that the family survived on rice for several days.
She said displaced families needed tents, food and other essential supplies because many had left their homes without taking basic belongings.
Yemen conflict and renewed escalation
Yemen’s civil war began escalating in 2014 after the Houthi movement seized large parts of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia intervened the following year in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
A UN-backed truce in 2022 significantly reduced the intensity of fighting, although the underlying political conflict remained unresolved.
Renewed hostilities have since intensified, with the Houthis carrying out attacks that they say are linked to efforts to lift the Saudi-led blockade. The latest escalation has added pressure on an already fragile humanitarian situation.
Yemen remains heavily dependent on international humanitarian assistance, while the country’s fragmented political and security environment continues to complicate aid delivery.
Aid organisations are warning that the latest displacement could further worsen food insecurity and access to healthcare unless additional resources reach affected communities.
