Yemen: UNHCR says over 280,000 displaced and aid is too dangerous to reach many, with Kharaz refugee camp near the front line

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on 30 October that more than 280,000 people in Yemen have now been displaced by fighting and that many vulnerable people cannot receive lifesaving help because reaching them is too dangerous. In an alert, the agency described a rapidly worsening crisis for more than 65,000 refugees and asylum seekers in the country, according to UN News.

UNHCR said “escalating insecurity, economic collapse, depleting resources and severe humanitarian access constraints leave tens of thousands with nowhere to turn”. UN News describes the fighting between Houthi forces and Government forces as having escalated and ended a four-year ceasefire. Our earlier report on the Yemen displacement covered the wider figures published by the UN humanitarian office (OCHA).

Kharaz camp near the front line

Aid teams are particularly worried about Kharaz refugee camp in the south-western governorate of Lahj, close to the front line. The camp shelters about 9,500 refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia in an area under Government control. UNHCR spokesperson Saltmarsh said no refugee casualties have been verified so far, but that nearby shelling has disrupted services and led to movement restrictions.

UNHCR partners have distributed food inside the camp in coordination with local authorities, and health assistance and water provision continue with significant difficulty. Most other services are on hold: schools are suspended, legal and documentation services are interrupted, and rising prices for fuel and staple foods make it harder for refugees to cover basic needs.

Saltmarsh said: “When access allows, we do move in that assistance, but it has been challenging.” He added that many displaced people have been unable to reach the places where UNHCR holds supplies, and that in many cases it has been too dangerous for staff to reach them.

Sea crossings, funding and shipping disruption

Despite the conflict, thousands of people continue to risk dangerous sea crossings from the Horn of Africa to Yemen, UNHCR said. UN News reports that the rise in humanitarian needs has coincided with severe supply chain shocks in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, which it links to the US-Iran war. UNHCR warned that its operations in Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia are among the most exposed to disrupted trade and shipping in the Red Sea.

The agency’s appeal for Yemen is only 19 per cent funded. UNHCR also announced that it had secured pro bono transport for 11 containers of emergency relief from Dubai to Yemen, with 3,000 relief kits for more than 20,000 people expected to arrive the next day, although shifting security conditions and logistical constraints complicate delivery.

Aid access in Taiz and Marib

The same UN News summary reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) delivered trauma and emergency surgery kits to hospitals in Taiz City, which it describes as almost entirely surrounded by Houthi forces. WHO noted that movement restrictions have forced community midwives to stop working and that medicines, fuel and water are scarce. In Marib governorate, only six of 31 mobile medical teams are still operating. Geopolitiki also reported the earlier warning from the World Food Programme in Yemen: WFP says fighting has cut aid to 800,000 people, most of them in Taiz.

The figures are UNHCR’s and WHO’s own estimates as reported by UN News, and they may change as displacement tracking is updated. The reports describe needs and access and do not assign responsibility for individual incidents.