Thousands of Yemenis Flee to Djibouti Amid Intensified Fighting and Aid Cuts

Thousands of Yemenis displaced by intensified fighting have fled across the Red Sea to Djibouti, with aid agencies “more than overwhelmed” by new arrivals amid the fallout from abrupt cuts to international aid.

More than 120,000 people have been displaced by a surge in fighting along Yemen's coast in recent weeks, according to the United Nations, with more than 3,200 arriving in Djibouti over the past few days.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, told The Independent its displacement facilities in Djibouti are already over capacity as they have received waves of people fleeing bombings across the sea on fishing boats, and later commercial vessels.

They are bracing for as many as 10,000 arrivals as the Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces battle for control of highlands overlooking the Red Sea coast.

The agency's response is understaffed and under-resourced, however, with the Djibouti office having suffered an 87 per cent budget cut amid sweeping reductions in international humanitarian aid, according to Sandrine Desamours, UNHCR’s Djibouti head.

Its in-country staff have been reduced from 43 to just 7.

“We are more than overwhelmed,” Ms Desamours said, adding that they can hear continued bombing across the sea in Yemen overnight.

The situation is “dire and getting worse”, with the sudden surge in new arrivals bringing risks of malnutrition and communicable diseases.

The US military campaign in Iran, which has widened into a regional conflict since it began in February, has reignited Yemen’s civil war and a decade-long conflict between the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia.

In recent weeks, the Houthis, who control the capital and large parts of Yemen, have escalated attacks, launching drones and missiles at Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and at international shipping lanes. They have also advanced along the Red Sea coast towards the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Before the current escalation, Ms Desamours said, the World Food Programme have been forced cut its monthly food aid in Djibouti by half because of aid cuts, and then additionally began delivering every other month.

That means that the existing 4,200 refugees in Djibouti’s Markazi camp – from Yemen and Eritrea – are now “sharing what little they had with the new community,” she said.

The Markazi camp in Obock was built for 5,000 people, meaning it is now stretched well beyond capacity as the local government and aid agencies attempt to expand.

There is a risk to health as some people are arriving without vaccinations, while others have brought livestock with them, meaning animals and people are sharing the same limited space.

It is compounded by fear that flooding expected from the incoming “super El Niño” could worsen the spread of disease, Ms Desamours said.

The most immediate needs are shelter, water and medication, with only about 200 tents available for thousands of families. The camp also needs cooking facilities, fuel and utensils for people who have arrived without the means to prepare food.

A particular concern is the number of breastfeeding mothers who are arriving without enough food to sustain themselves to produce milk.

Around 60 per cent of those who arrived in the first week were women and children, according to UNHCR.

Ms Desamours also warned of the consequences of failing to help refugees become self-reliant, something that could be particularly serious for girls.

“If we're not able to get refugees to very quickly become self reliant, there are many young girls who may be sold into marriages,” she said. “We've seen it in many other crises.”

On Wednesday, Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces said they have taken over the strategic Mount Qarfan as they fight the Houthis for control of the highlands overlooking the Red Sea coast.

The Houthis seized Yemen’s Red Sea coast earlier this month in an attempt to sever the coast from the remaining government-held south.

The Bab al-Mandab Strait below is the gateway to Egypt's Suez Canal and onward to the Mediterranean. The struggle to control it, and hold sway over global energy markets, has escalated amid disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The crisis in Djibouti comes amid a deepening funding crisis at UNHCR, which has been forced to cut its global operations and thousands of staff as governments reduce humanitarian spending.

The US, historically the world’s largest humanitarian donor, sharply cut overseas assistance when Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, dismantling the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Since it subsequently began strikes with Israel on Iran earlier this year, thousands have been killed across the region and the operation has cost the US military an estimated $43.6 billion.

The conflict also sent shockwaves through the global economy, disrupting the flow of around a fifth of the world’s oil through the Strait of Hormuz and driving up energy, shipping and food costs worldwide. It has caused further food shortages in some of the world’s most fragile settings, including Yemen.