Houthi Violence Forces 130,000 Yemenis to Flee Amid Severe Aid Shortages

Internally displaced (IDP) Yemeni children, who fled their homes with their families due to renewed clashes between Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces and the country's Houthi rebels, arrive at their new makeshift homes in the al-Kadah area of the Taiz Governorate, southwestern Yemen on September 6, 2026. Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in southwest Yemen killed more than 140 combatants between midday September 5 and September 6, military sources said. Days-long clashes have erupted in Yemen over control of a gateway to the Red Sea in the deadliest fighting in the Arabian Peninsula country since a 2022 ceasefire between the two sides collapsed in July. (Credit: Photo by Ahmad AL-BASHA / AFP via Getty Images)

• ---

  A Houthi offensive that swept across Yemen's entire Red Sea coastline this September has displaced more than 130,000 people in under a month, and UN officials warn the toll could climb past 230,000 if the fighting drags on.

• More than a quarter of children screened by UNICEF teams in reachable areas showed signs of acute malnutrition, 243 schools have shut down, and aid workers remain locked out of roughly two-thirds of Houthi-controlled territory.
• The crisis has drawn in outside powers, with Saudi Arabia's crown prince repeatedly pressing Washington to strike Houthi positions, even as the UN refugee agency's Yemen operation sits at just 18 percent of its funding target for the year.

  ---

A Truce Unravels Along the Coast