Yemeni civilians board crowded boats to escape expanding Red Sea conflict
Yemeni residents are fleeing by sea after intensified clashes between Iran-backed Houthi forces and Saudi-backed troops threaten the Red Sea corridor.
Following a rapid Houthi advance that now controls Yemen's entire Red Sea shoreline, civilians are taking precarious boat trips to escape the fighting. Ahmad Hassan, 70, described the cramped, seasick journey to Africa after his village was hit by Houthi arrivals and subsequent airstrikes that shut shops and halted food supplies. The International Organization for Migration says more than 100,000 Yemenis have been displaced, chiefly inside the country.
Houthi-controlled media reported fresh Saudi air strikes in Hajjah province near the Saudi border and in Taiz, while the Houthis boast of shooting down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet. The spillover of the Middle East war threatens global oil supplies, keeping crude prices between $100 and $110 a barrel and driving U.S. diesel prices to a record near $6.40 per gallon. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed hope for an end to the conflict, despite no recent U.S.-Iran negotiations.
Why it matters
The exodus highlights the human toll of a widening Middle East war that also jeopardizes global oil supplies.
How this story developed
- Sep 8 Houthi strikes wound dozens in Saudi cities as coalition vows retaliation
- Sep 12 Experts noted Iran now influences both the Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab chokepoints.
- Sep 13 Houthis announced a drone and missile strike on Saudi Sharurah military base.
- Sep 13 Iraq seized a drone‑launching platform suspected of being used in the strike and dismissed the Maysan provincial commander.
- Sep 13 Saudi east‑west oil pipeline shut after a drone strike.
- Sep 13 Houthis allege Saudi forces carried out more than 50 attacks on their targets in a single day.
- Sep 14 In a post on X, the European Commission President condemned the Houthi assault on Saudi and American military sites, calling it an act of aggression. She stressed that the EU will continue cooperating with Gulf partners to ensure secure, free shipping through the Hormuz Strait. The statement also highlighted the broader goal of Middle-East stability, which the EU views as a shared interest. The Houthi group claimed to have launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, citing retaliation for Saudi air strikes in Yemen. Saudi officials responded by ordering air patrols in several southern regions.
- Sep 15 Houthi forces reported seizing the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands.
- Sep 15 Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met President Abdel Fattah al‑Sisi in Cairo to discuss Red Sea navigation and retaliation against the Houthis.
- Sep 16 Saudi civil defense issued emergency shelter warnings for Jeddah, Mecca and Taif.
- Sep 16 Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a drone aimed at Mecca and accused Iran-backed Houthi rebels of the plot, which the rebels denied.
- Sep 16 Saudi Arabia announced the cancellation of September crude cargoes to Europe.
- Sep 16 Saudi coalition announced a drone it said was Houthi‑linked was heading toward Mecca and triggered a brief security alert.
- Sep 16 Houthis seized coastal towns and islands at the mouth of the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
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