Djibouti—The Republic of Djibouti has announced its firm and steadfast commitment to the fundamental principle of ensuring freedom of maritime navigation and safety in international waterways. It reiterated its call for a comprehensive and sustainable political solution to the Yemeni crisis. This statement follows recent developments on the ground and the arrival of Houthi forces in the area of the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.
This official position was outlined in a statement issued by the Djiboutian government and shared via the official X (formerly Twitter) account of Dia-Eddine Bamakhrama, Djibouti’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Permanent Representative to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The statement affirmed that Djibouti is monitoring the rapidly evolving security situation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait with keen interest and deep concern. Driven by its strategic commitment to ensuring freedom of trade and maritime navigation, Djibouti supports all regional and international efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions and preventing further escalation.
Regarding the humanitarian and on-the-ground situation stemming from the crisis, Djibouti’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh, announced that approximately 1,400 people had arrived in Djibouti from Yemen within just 24 hours, fleeing the violent clashes and armed confrontations between government forces and the Houthi militia. Writing on the platform X, the minister described the arrivals as “asylum seekers,” noting that they had streamed into the Horn of Africa nation located across from the Yemeni coast.
In a related humanitarian context, Safia Ibrahim, Humanitarian Response Coordinator at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), confirmed that the new wave of displacement includes large numbers of vulnerable individuals—specifically women and children—fleeing the hellish fighting. She explained that displaced persons have been arriving successively in the city of Obock, located in northern Djibouti, with expectations that the influx of people will continue in the coming days. For its part, the IOM reported that at least 76,000 people have been internally displaced in Yemen since last July, noting that the number of displaced persons quadrupled in the past week alone due to the intensity of the fighting.
