Over 1,600 internally displaced in Yemen’s Taiz in one week: UN refugee agency

Mohammed Sameai and Mohammad Sio

More than 1,600 people were internally displaced in Yemen in one week because of military escalation, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Wednesday.

The agency said in a statement published on its website that it recorded the displacement of 274 families, comprising 1,644 people, between Aug. 23 and 29.

Taiz province in southwestern Yemen recorded the largest number of displaced families, with 215 families displaced within the province, most of them moving to safer areas, particularly in the districts of Mawza, Maqbanah and Mokha, the IOM said.

It recorded the displacement of 23 families in western Hodeidah, 17 in central Marib, 12 in southwestern Lahj and seven in eastern Hadramout.

Safety and security concerns were the main drivers of displacement, prompting 261 families, or 95% of the total, to leave their areas, the agency said. Another 12 families were displaced because of conflict-related economic conditions.

The total number of people internally displaced in Yemen since the start of 2026 through Aug. 29 reached 2,631 families, or 15,786 people, according to the IOM.

Clashes between government forces and the Houthi group have resumed in several provinces since early July, including Marib, Jawf in northern Yemen, and Al Dhale and Taiz in the southwest.

Yemen has been experiencing a period of de-escalation since April 2022 after a war that erupted about 12 years ago between government forces and the Houthis, who have controlled several provinces and cities, including the capital Sanaa, since Sept. 21, 2014.