More than 230,000 Yemenis could be displaced if fighting intensifies, the UNHCR representative for Yemen warned Tuesday, as Britain announced it would deploy RAF refueling aircraft to support Saudi Arabia's military operations against Houthi forces. The warning came as 112,000 people had already been displaced — most in the last two weeks along Yemen's western coast and in Taiz governorate — with thousands more fleeing across the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to Djibouti.
The UN Refugee Agency said around 230,000 displaced persons in Yemen and another 10,000 refugees in Djibouti are expected to require humanitarian assistance in the coming months. UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch announced at a press briefing in Geneva that more than 130,000 people have been displaced in Yemen and some 3,000 have fled to Djibouti due to the resumption of fighting in early September between the Houthis and pro-government forces. These figures could rise to 230,000 and 10,000 respectively in the coming months, he said.
British Military Support Escalates Conflict
The UK is set to provide military support to Saudi Arabia against the Houthi advance in Yemen and the group's strikes on the kingdom. Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the UK would deploy the RAF Voyager plane, operating from a UK base in Cyprus, for air-to-air refuelling operations. Pollard said the support would comply with international humanitarian law.
A statement from the Ministry of Defence said the UK has agreed to provide an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft to support Saudi defensive activity in support of the legitimate government of Yemen. It added that the Houthis are a dangerous threat to regional stability in the Middle East, and it is in the UK's national economic and security interest that they do not succeed. The air support follows the deployment of air defence equipment and UK military personnel to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.
Civilian Toll Mounts as Fighting Spreads
The Houthis have targeted Saudi cities, oil infrastructure and Red Sea oil shipments as they captured a swathe of the Red Sea coast in a lightning campaign, giving them control over the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait. They're demanding an end to the decade-old Saudi blockade on Yemen, in return for which they say attacks on Saudi Arabia and its oil exports through the Red Sea will be halted.
Saudi Arabia has launched airstrikes as Riyadh seeks more support from its allies. Heavy fighting took place in the Taiz, Marib and al-Jawf regions between Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Houthi fighters, with exchanges of artillery and missile fire. Warplanes carried out intensive air strikes on Houthi positions and weapons in western Taiz governorate, and government forces repelled a Houthi attack in Bani Bakari on the al-Ashrouh front in Jabal Habashi district west of Taiz.
As fighting in southern and western Yemen grew more intense, authorities raised the alert level and deployed more security personnel. The west coast was particularly affected, with displacement rising as the government and international humanitarian organisations struggle to reach areas affected by the fighting. The escalation has also seen more use of drones, with Yemeni government forces said to have shot down several, including some carrying mortar rounds.
Why This Matters:
The UK's decision to provide military support to Saudi Arabia comes as Yemen faces what aid agencies describe as the world's worst humanitarian crisis — a crisis deepened by years of Saudi-led coalition airstrikes and a blockade that has strangled the country's economy and access to food, medicine, and fuel. Britain's deployment of refueling aircraft will enable Saudi warplanes to fly longer missions over Yemen, potentially increasing the civilian toll in a conflict that has already killed hundreds of thousands and left millions on the brink of famine. The government's insistence that its support complies with international humanitarian law raises questions among critics who point to years of documented civilian casualties from coalition airstrikes. As 230,000 more Yemenis face displacement, Western military support for the Saudi campaign raises urgent questions about complicity in a humanitarian catastrophe that shows no sign of ending.