As air strikes and missile attacks roil Yemen's Red Sea coastline, families are making the hazardous crossing of the narrow Bab al‑Mandab Strait to reach safety in Djibouti. In the open‑sided Markazi camp at Obock, tarpaulins lie on sand and UN‑run tents line the perimeter, housing dozens of displaced households who arrived by boat and then by truck or on foot.
One of the new arrivals, 50‑year‑old Ibrahim Issa from the coastal town of Dhubab, escaped on his own fishing vessel with his wife, children and several goats. He described the constant roar of aircraft over his hometown as a reason to flee, saying, "When the sound of the planes start, the kids hear the planes, they begin shouting and screaming. It is our responsibility to protect them."
UN agencies say that in the last few days more than 3,000 refugees have entered the camp, and the United Nations estimates that the recent flare‑up along Yemen's Red Sea coast has displaced over 120,000 Yemenis in total. Some families have managed to bring small belongings – a metal shisha pipe, a few blankets – while others arrived with only the clothes on their backs.
The displacement follows a rapid Houthi advance down the Yemeni coast towards Bab al‑Mandab, a strategic maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Saudi Arabia, which backs the internationally recognised Yemeni government, has responded with hundreds of air strikes on the flat coastal plain, while the Houthis have launched hundreds of drones and missiles at cities and infrastructure in south‑western Saudi Arabia. A shaky UN‑brokered truce from 2022 has collapsed, leaving both sides trading missiles, drones and air raids.
Djibouti, a tiny former French colony bordering the strait, has declared its neutrality in the conflict, yet it hosts major foreign military installations, including the US‑run Camp Lemonnier and a large Chinese naval base, making it one of Africa's most militarised states. The government has welcomed the refugees but stresses that it will not become a party to the war.
Long‑time refugee Mohammed Abdullarim, a 63‑year‑old former tour guide who arrived in 2015, expressed sorrow for his compatriots, while 100‑year‑old former fisherman Qassim Abraham Abssy and his wife Aisha Abdulkadir Mohammed pleaded for peace, saying they would return home only if the fighting stops. Their stories underscore the human cost of a war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions since 2014, while also threatening global oil supplies through the Bab al‑Mandab Strait.
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Category: International
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