Djibouti receives 1,400 Yemeni refugees in 24 hours as Houthis advance

September 13, 2026 at 09:40 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

About 1,400 Yemeni refugees arrived in Djibouti within 24 hours, Djibouti's economy and finance minister said on Saturday. The influx comes as Houthi fighters tightened their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb strait after seizing the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday. Djibouti's coastal city of Obock received 500 refugees on Friday, including women and children rescued at sea.

Key Facts

Djibouti's economy and finance minister Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh said 1,400 refugees arrived from Yemen in 24 hours.
On Friday, 500 refugees arrived in Obock, including women and children rescued at sea after their boats ran out of fuel.
The Houthis seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday and have since overrun the coastline and islands surrounding the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
The International Organization for Migration said 76,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Yemen since July.
UN Refugee Agency figures from March 2026 show Djibouti hosts more than 36,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen.

Refugee Arrivals

Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, Djibouti's economy and finance minister, wrote on X on Saturday that 1,400 refugees arrived from Yemen in just 24 hours. In a separate post on Friday, the minister said 500 refugees had arrived in the coastal city of Obock, including women and children, after being rescued at sea when their boats ran out of fuel while crossing the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. Obock, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) across the water from the Yemeni coast, has for several years been a preferred arrival point for those seeking refuge from war-torn Yemen. Safiya Ibrahim, humanitarian response coordinator for the International Organization for Migration, told AFP that vulnerable groups such as women and children have reached the shores of Obock, with more expected in the coming days.

Houthi Offensive

The Houthis seized the Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday and have since overrun the coastline and islands surrounding the Bab al-Mandeb strait. The rapid offensive has forced thousands of families to flee, with entire villages reportedly emptied in districts such as Maqbanah, Jabal Habashi and al-Maafer. The International Organization for Migration said on Saturday that 76,000 people had been displaced by fighting in Yemen since July, with the figure quadrupling following the renewed escalation in hostilities.

Djibouti's Refugee Population

Djibouti hosts tens of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers. United Nations Refugee Agency figures from March 2026 show a registered population of more than 36,000, with the majority from Somalia, Ethiopia and Yemen. The Bab-el-Mandeb strait is also used in the opposite direction by migrants from the Horn of Africa, who transit through Yemen on their way to Gulf countries.