Djibouti calls for assistance as thousands of Yemenis flee to country

Djibouti’s interior minister has warned that the number of people arriving in the country already exceeds national capacity.

Djibouti is calling on the international community to urgently provide assistance to help deal with the rising number of Yemenis fleeing to the country, warning that the figure already exceeds national capacity.

More than 2,500 Yemenis have arrived in Djibouti since Thursday last week, according to Interior Minister Omar Abdi Said.

“We expect the number of displaced people to rise to about 10,000 in the coming weeks,” Said said on Wednesday.

“The influx of migrants has already exceeded our national capacity, and we are facing increasing pressure as international funding declines. We call on the United Nations and international partners to mobilise urgent financial resources commensurate with the scale of the crisis.”

Heavy fighting is under way in western Yemen between the Iran-backed Houthis and the internationally recognised government, backed by Saudi Arabia. Thousands of Yemenis have sought safety in Djibouti, which lies directly opposite Yemen across the Red Sea.

The conflict is worsening the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East. More than 4.5 million people have been displaced since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015. The latest escalation has raised concerns of further internal displacement and the possibility of more Yemenis fleeing the country.

The International Organization for Migration’s Djibouti Office (IOM) said in a video posted on X on Wednesday that its staff and local authorities are on the ground, providing Yemenis arriving in the country with food and water.

The agency’s response coordinator for Djibouti, Safiya Ibrahim, warned that many people, including women, children, babies and sick people, are arriving in the country daily, adding that the IOM is “counting on additional financial support” to continue its operations.

Djibouti is the third-smallest nation on the African continent, with a population of less than 1.2 million.