Tens of thousands flee as fighting escalates in Taiz and on the West Coast

Fighting escalated rapidly from 3 September in Taiz and along the West Coast. By 11 September, IOM said at least 46,000 people had been displaced and the number was rising by the hour. Families arrived in Lahj and Aden, and IOM said emergency stocks were already depleted after the flood response (IOM).

Families are being forced to flee for the second or third time in this conflict, with almost nothing left.

Amy Pope, IOM Director General

By late September, UNICEF said nearly 130,000 people had been forced from their homes in three weeks, an estimated 71,000 of them children. Of nearly 2,900 children screened, more than one in four were acutely malnourished (UNICEF, via UN News).

WHO warned that crowded displacement sites raise the risk of cholera and measles, with about 7,800 suspected cholera cases and more than 22,000 measles cases recorded so far this year (WHO, via UN News).

Key figures

• At least 46,000 people displaced by 11 September (IOM)
• Nearly 130,000 displaced in three weeks, including an estimated 71,000 children (UNICEF)
• More than one in four screened children acutely malnourished (UNICEF)
• About 7,800 suspected cholera cases and more than 22,000 measles cases in 2026 (WHO)

Sources

• IOM: Displacement in Yemen alarmingly surges past 46,000 amid escalating fighting (11 September 2026)
• UN News: Yemen violence deepens concerns over child hunger crisis (25 September 2026)
• UN News: Yemen escalation fuels fears of further cholera, measles spread (29 September 2026)

Photo: irwan zahuri / Pexels · Tarim, Hadhramaut, Yemen