Yemen: Tens of thousands homeless as entire communities are forced to flee

 Shelter options are rapidly shrinking, with three in four newly displaced households lacking adequate shelter. Five camps where NRC works have emptied as people flee for safer areas. In some locations, as many as seven families are forced to share a single tent. 

"This escalation could not come at a worse time for Yemenis," said Jan Egeland, NRC Secretary General. "In a country where half the population are struggling to put food on the table, and where many children have only known displacement, renewed full-scale conflict would be a blow to millions of families already struggling to make ends meet”.  

“All parties must avoid endangering civilians or targeting civilian areas. The protection of families and their children is paramount.” 

Many people that NRC has spoken to reported leaving their homes with nothing, often in the middle of the night. Many told NRC that they walked for hours, up to 15 kilometres, to find safety. Reports have also emerged of people forced to sleep out in the open under trees. 

Ammar, 20, was displaced again in the latest escalation. He told NRC, "This is not the first time I have been displaced, and I am afraid it will not be the last. I am telling my story because I want the world to know what is happening to us. I want you to know that we are not numbers. We are not just displaced people. We are innocent families. We are human beings. And we are tired of running and escaping our lives." 

NRC will respond to some of the most urgent needs of displaced families, including shelter, water, and sanitation, in Taiz and Abyan in the south. However, Yemen's humanitarian response has been grossly underfunded, with emergency stocks running low and funding falling far short to meet needs even before the escalation. Major funding cuts, particularly in northern governorates, have already forced massive reductions in critical food, nutrition, and health services. 

"The humanitarian crisis unfolding today is worsened by years of chronic neglect. The international community must act now to mobilise the resources needed to ease the suffering of millions and avoid deepening conflict. Yemen simply cannot withstand another emergency. The human cost is already far too high," added Egeland. 

NRC considers Yemen one of the world's most neglected displacement crises. This escalation demonstrates the consequences of neglect: when conflict intensifies, civilians are left with few places to turn.