IOM says displacement in Yemen has passed 200,000 amid renewed fighting

The International Organization for Migration said on October 7 that it had counted 201,217 people forced from their homes in Yemen since fighting began. The UN agency’s latest figure covers 33,776 households across 10 governorates, putting the scale of displacement above the 184,000 reported earlier in the week as families seek shelter, food and safety.

IOM said nearly all those in its latest count — 197,755 people — had fled since September 1. Its tracked total was 76,000 in mid-September and had passed 145,000 by the end of that month. Those figures show how quickly the recorded caseload has grown, although they do not establish how many more people may be displaced after October 7.

Where displacement is concentrated in Yemen

Ta’iz, in the southwest, accounts for 114,708 people in IOM’s count, or 57% of the total. The agency recorded 42,264 in Lahj, 20,814 in Aden, 9,030 in Abyan and 8,244 in Al Hodeidah. It also listed smaller numbers in Hadramawt, Shabwah, Ma’rib, Al Maharah and Ad Dali’.

Within Ta’iz, IOM recorded 31,230 displaced people in Al Ma’afer, 31,020 in Jabal Habashi and 24,894 in Ash Shamayatayn. Together, those three districts accounted for about three-quarters of the people the agency had recorded in that governorate. The breakdown points to concentrated pressure on places receiving families who have left their homes.

What changed from the earlier displacement count

A UN News report published on October 5 said more than 184,000 people had been displaced since the start of August. It reported nearly 21,800 people displaced at least once in the week to October 3 and a further 6,474 on October 4. IOM’s October 7 total is a later count; the two figures should be read as dated snapshots, rather than as a single measurement taken on the same day.

AFP reported on October 7 that Yemen was seeing its most serious escalation in fighting since a UN-brokered truce largely halted major cross-border attacks in 2022. It reported that the Houthis had seized the country’s entire Red Sea coast the previous month from forces aligned with the internationally recognised government, and that Presidential Leadership Council chairman Rashad al-Alimi had announced an offensive on Sunday to retake Houthi-held territory. Those developments provide context for the movement of people recorded by IOM.

Shelter, food and funding needs

In IOM’s account of families’ stated priorities, 35% identified shelter as their most urgent need, followed by food at 33%, cash support at 22% and protection at one in ten. The agency said families were staying in makeshift shelters or with relatives and neighbours. It did not provide a sampling method for those percentages in the published release, so they should be read as the needs reported to IOM, not as a survey of every displaced household.

Earlier reporting by UN News described an IOM assessment at three displacement sites in Ma’rib where the lack of safe shelter was the most critical concern. Some families were sleeping outdoors. About 45% of households assessed there had previously been displaced and had lost assets and livelihoods, leaving them less able to cope with another move. That site assessment describes those locations; it is not a nationwide estimate.

IOM said Yemen’s humanitarian response plan was only 20% funded and that relief stocks were running low. It said its teams were working with local authorities and partners to provide emergency shelter, household items, cash, clean water and protection services. Director General Amy Pope said: ‘People are running for their lives and finding nowhere safe to go.’ She called for donors to provide immediate support.

IOM also urged all parties to protect civilians and aid workers and allow safe, unhindered access to people in need. The agency expected displacement to keep rising in the coming days and said a more detailed data breakdown would follow. Its October 7 figure is therefore the latest published count in these reports, while the eventual scale of displacement remains open.