Attachments
Highlights
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The IOM Yemen team (300+ local staff) continues its activities on the ground, extending humanitarian aid in the southern and northern regions of the country. Two IOM staff are joining the OCHA-led MIRA assessment team in Aden on 9 April. Additional field assessments in Aden and Abyan are under way.
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IOM is awaiting landing clearance for its first evacuation flight out of Sana’a (Yemen) to evacuate approximately 170 Third Country Nationals to Khartoum (Sudan), where evacuees will benefit from onward transportation assistance. Daily flights to Khartoum and Addis Ababa are being planned.
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An estimated 5,000 people have so far arrived to Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia. IOM is assisting with basic humanitarian support and onward transportation assistance for most vulnerable cases.
Situation Overview
The situation in Yemen continues to deteriorate rapidly. According to OCHA, civilian populations have been affected by airstrikes and other armed actions in 14 out of 21 governorates. Initial unverified estimates suggest that over 100,000 individuals have been internally displaced as a result of the conflict. An increase in the number of people moving from Sa’ada and Sana’a to Amran Governorate are being reported.
According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 311 civilians were killed nationwide between 26 March and 7 April. Widespread medicine, fuel, water and electricity shortages are reported. Food prices are also rising in major cities. Civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, is being affected by the fighting.
Significant numbers continue to cross the Gulf of Aden, with reports of new arrivals in Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia in recent days. In parallel, while a number of governments have taken steps to evacuate their nationals from Yemen, whether by sea or air, many have not been able to do so, and have instead called on IOM’s assistance to extract their nationals who remain stranded there.
Following the evacuation of all UN/IOM international staff from Yemen, IOM has reestablished a functional coordination hub in Amman (Jordan) where the Chief of Mission and senior international staff are now based, along with other agencies and the Humanitarian Coordinator. IOM and partners are currently working to identify ways in which agencies may quickly reestablish their international presence in-country. Meanwhile, IOM's 300+ national staff continue operating IOM relief programs within Yemen, wherever possible.