More than 200,000 people displaced since fighting in Yemen began, says UN agency

Houthi supporters gather in solidarity with the movement as fighting escalates across several fronts, in Sanaa, Yemen, October 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mohammed al-Mahdi

GENEVA, Oct 7 - More than 200,000 people have been displaced from their homes since fighting in Yemen began in recent weeks, according to data released on Wednesday by the United Nations' International Organization for Migration.

IOM described the crisis sparked by renewed fighting between the Iran-backed Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen as alarming, with displacement figures surging from 76,000 in mid-September to more than 200,000 as of Wednesday — nearly all of whom fled since fighting began in early September.

"People are running for their lives and finding nowhere safe to go," said IOM Director General Amy Pope, who called for more funding amid rising needs for food and shelter.

Yemen is experiencing the most serious escalation in fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border attacks in 2022. The renewed conflict could reshape control in Yemen, with implications for Red Sea shipping lanes.

The Houthis, who already control most of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa, seized the country's entire Red Sea coast last month from Saudi-backed forces of the internationally recognised government, based in the southern port of Aden.

People have been displaced across 10 governorates, with Ta'iz the hardest hit.

More than 3,700 people have also fled by sea to Djibouti, IOM said.

On Friday the UN World Food Programme said that three in four families in parts of Yemen were going hungry from the "absolutely devastating" impact of a surge in fighting. REUTERS