Yemen displacement reaches 147,000 amid war escalation
19:20, 20/09/2026, SundayU: Update: 20:14, 20/09/2026, Sunday
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The Executive Unit for the Management of Displaced Persons Camps said on Sunday that nearly 147,000 people have been displaced since the start of September amid a broad military escalation across Yemen, warning that delays in international assistance could exacerbate the crisis and increase pressure on host communities.
Yemen's Executive Unit for the Management of Displaced Persons Camps announced on Sunday that nearly 147,000 people have been displaced across eight provinces since the beginning of September amid deteriorating security conditions and a broad military escalation that has seen Houthi forces advance along the western coast.
Displacement spreads across eight provinces
The governmental body documented the displacement of 21,583 families comprising 146,943 individuals between September 1 and 18, according to the report issued Sunday. Taiz province in the southwest received the largest influx, hosting 11,534 families totaling 80,792 people distributed across 15 districts, while Lahj province ranked second with 5,472 families comprising 38,304 people across nine districts. Aden received 1,622 families comprising 7,162 people, most hosted by local families, while Al-Hudaydah districts of Hays and Al Khawkhah received 1,471 families totaling 10,297 people.
Houthi advances drive escalation
The rise in displacement coincides with a broad military escalation that began in early July along Yemen's western coast and in Taiz province, marking the worst fighting since a UN-brokered truce collapsed in April 2022. Houthi fighters have advanced and seized control of several strategic positions previously held by government forces, including the strategic city of Mokha and positions extending to Mayun Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The Executive Unit called on international and local organizations to provide “urgent, life-saving assistance” to displaced people, warning that delays in the response could “exacerbate the crisis and increase pressure on host communities.”
Fighting has resumed on multiple fronts in Taiz, Marib and Al Jawf in the north, and Al Bayda in central Yemen, with clashes intensifying throughout September. Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, and a Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.