At least 1,400 flee from Yemen to Djibouti

Ohuthis, who controlled much of the north of the country, including the capital Sanaa and Hodeida (west), advanced along the coast in a few days and took the port city of Mokha on Thursday. They then took control of the coast and islands of the Red Sea, consolidating their position in the strategic Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, where maritime traffic passes to and from the Suez Canal.

In his social network account X, Ilyas Moussa Davaleh indicated: “1,400 refugees have arrived in Djibouti from Yemen in the last 24 hours”.

Small country of the Horn of Africa, Djibouti borders Yemen and the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, which gives access to the Red Sea from the Gulf of Aden and where much of trade between Asia and Europe passes.

This passage has gained importance, especially for oil exports from Saudi Arabia, since Iran closed the Strait of Ormuz on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.

Safiya Ibrahim, the humanitarian response coordinator of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told the agency France-Presse that among those who arrived in Obock in northern Djibouti are “women and children”, adding that “they are expected to arrive later in the coming days.”.

According to the UN, at least 76,000 people have fled their homes in Yemen since July due to clashes, which have caused hundreds of deaths on both sides.

Yemeni government forces, supported by Saudi Arabia, said today they attacked the pro-Iran Huthis in the Red Sea region.

“ The armed forces destroyed vehicles and weapons today and eliminated members of the Huthi terrorist militia, supported by the Iranian regime, near the port of Mokha,” official news agency Saba said.

They also targeted the outskirts of the city and the road leading to Dhubab, further south, added, quoting the spokesperson of the armed forces, Majid al-Nazili.

Saudi Arabia also conducted air strikes at Mokha airport, according to the Almasirah television channel, controlled by Huthis.

“ In the last 48 hours, Saudi aviation has carried out 129 air strikes in the provinces of Taiz, Hodeida, Marib, al-Jawf, Saada, Amran and Hajjah,” Huthis spokesperson Yahya Sahara said.

The Huthis, who announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in July and targeted their oil tankers, launched a major attack on the kingdom this week.

After years of relative calm thanks to a truce between the Government and the Huthis, the clashes in Yemen intensified again in July, taking the background of the conflict between Iran and the United States.

The US President said today that the Huthis, targets of US air strikes in 2025 for attacking merchant ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in support of the Palestinian radical Hamas movement in its war against Israel, asked him not to intervene in the war in Yemen.

According to the American news portal Axios, Saudi Arabia's crown prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman called Donald Trump twice on Thursday to urge the president to attack Yemeni fighters, but saw his requests refused.