UNHCR declares ‘Level 1’ emergency for Yemen, Djibouti and Somalia: ‘More crossings are underway’

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Saleh, has said that “more crossings are underway”, as thousands of people have fled the conflict in Yemen toward Djibouti and other destinations. Saleh was speaking at a briefing before the UN Security Council, where he said tens of thousands of people have already been displaced by the latest escalation of the war in Yemen.

The UN refugee agency has declared a “Level 1” emergency for Yemen, Djibouti and Somalia, in response to the growing displacement caused by the Yemeni conflict. The highest level of humanitarian emergency reflects fears that the crisis is turning into a regional displacement catastrophe.

The commissioner also reiterated the UN’s call for the release of UN personnel and other humanitarian workers detained by the Houthis. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme has announced that fighting on Yemen’s Red Sea coast alone has displaced 125,000 people.

The escalation of fighting between the Iranian-backed Houthis and Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi coalition has coincided with the heaviest weeks of the conflict since the resumption of hostilities, as Al Jazeera reports. Thousands of families are fleeing by boat toward African shores, turning the Bab al-Mandeb Strait into not only a flashpoint of war but also an emergency humanitarian corridor.