Yemenis flee across Red Sea as Houthis and Saudi-backed forces escalate war

More than 3,000 Yemenis have arrived in Djibouti in just the past few days after fleeing the Red Sea coast amid escalating attacks by Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi-backed forces. Ibrahim Issa, 50, says his family escaped by boat across the Bab al-Mandab strait and reached Markazi camp in Obock, where families receive aid under joint government and UN administration. He describes how air strikes and aircraft noise trigger panic for children. The UN estimates over 120,000 Yemenis have been displaced by the sudden surge in fighting. Houthis have moved down toward Bab al-Mandab while Saudi Arabia has carried out hundreds of air strikes and the Houthis have launched drones and missiles into southwest Saudi Arabia. Djibouti says it won’t involve itself, though it hosts major foreign military bases.