Addis Ababa: More than 1,400 Yemenis have arrived in Djibouti within 24 hours amid renewed fighting and territorial advances by Houthi forces in Yemen, according to multiple reports.
Djibouti’s coast guard and other government institutions are working to manage the influx and provide emergency assistance to the arrivals, who are currently in Obock, a coastal locality in northern Djibouti.
The Djiboutian government has called on international organizations to provide additional assistance. Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, Djibouti’s minister of economy and finance, said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other UN agencies are facing resource constraints in responding to the influx.
Sources familiar with the situation told Horn Frequency that the number of arrivals could increase further if the security situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate.
Sources in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), who requested anonymity , said the reported movement of Houthi forces toward areas facing Djibouti and Eritrea has raised security concerns in both countries.
Videos circulating online show Houthi fighters chanting slogans against the United States and its allies and celebrating what they describe as a military victory.
Saudi Arabia also reportedly carried out several airstrikes targeting Houthi weapons and military equipment left behind after Saudi forces withdrew from the area, according to multiple reports.
