Thousands of people from Yemen's coastal towns have crossed the Bab al-Mandab Strait and arrived in Djibouti after a rapid escalation of fighting along the Red Sea coast, placing new pressure on local shelters and UN relief operations. In the space of a few days more than 3,000 refugees reached Markazi camp in Obock, UN and camp staff say, as a UN estimate puts total displacement from the recent surge at over 120,000 people.
Markazi is a large, open-sided warehouse and tented site jointly run by the Djibouti government and the UN. New arrivals include entire families and people who escaped with only the clothes they were wearing. Some left on fishing boats, bringing small bundles and, in a few cases, animals. One man who fled with his family also loaded several goats onto his boat.
Those at the camp describe fleeing because of the bombardment and the noise of aircraft. Ibrahim Issa, 50, from the frontline coastal town of Dhubab, said, "How could I just sit there when my kids are screaming and shaking in terror?... That is why we fled, to save them." Another returnee, whose identity card lists him as 100 years old, described the planes and the bombing as the trigger for leaving, asking rhetorically, "What led us to come here?"
The most recent push of fighters moved down the coast towards the maritime chokepoint at Bab al-Mandab, and Saudi forces have responded with hundreds of air strikes along the coastal plain where the Houthis have taken positions. The Houthis in turn have launched hundreds of drones and missiles at cities and infrastructure in south-western Saudi Arabia. A UN-brokered truce from 2022 has broken down in recent months, and the renewed fighting is driving the cross-border displacement.
Djibouti has said it will not become a party to the conflict, even as it hosts large foreign military bases. The country is among the most militarised in Africa, with the US operating Camp Lemonnier since 2003 and China maintaining a recently upgraded base, its largest presence on the Indian Ocean.
Many at Markazi camp say they are grateful for the shelter but uncertain how long they will stay. "We are willing to go back in peace if peace returns to our country," one refugee, Aisha Abdulkadir Mohammed, said. Return depends on whether the air strikes and ground advances ease, leaving the displaced dependent on humanitarian assistance and the course of the fighting for any prospect of going home.
