Cairo, Oct 6. (dpa/GNA) – Fighting between Houthi rebels and troops loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognized government, has led to a rise in displacement, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday, with more than 184,000 people forced to flee since the start of August.
The UN-related agency warned that further displacement was possible in the coming days, due to the unstable situation. “As the conflict intensifies, more and more people are thrown into an appalling cycle of displacement, living in fear of their lives and with their futures uncertain,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said.
Fighting has been concentrated in particular around the port cities of Dhubab and Mocha and the provincial capital of Taiz in the south-west of the country. Government troops are being supported by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
According to military observers, Houthi rebels continue to occupy the strategically important port city of Mocha. The city lies on the 27 kilometre-wide Bab al-Mandab (Gate of Tears) Strait, through which sea trade between Europe and Asia passes, along with oil and liquefied gas shipments from the Arab Gulf states.
Whoever controls the port can effectively control or block shipping in the southern Red Sea. The Saudi-led coalition announced that it had destroyed a ballistic missile launch pad in the capital Sana’a and a missile storage facility in a mountain complex in the north-western province of Saada, where 20 ballistic missiles had been stored.
GNA