IOM urges Djibouti support Migrants stranded on routes

Oct 6

IOM's Alexandre Coissac describes overlapping emergencies in Djibouti: more than 3,700 refugees arriving from Yemen over three weeks, more than 20,000 incoming movements from Ethiopia since September 10, and 539 Ethiopian migrants returning from Yemen. More than 3,000 stranded migrants were observed from September 20–30, facing exhaustion, dehydration, shortages and exploitation risks. IOM supplies emergency aid and voluntary-return assistance, while secondary routes make people harder to reach and stretch local services. Coissac asks for international support. In Q&A he says Ethiopian movement volumes have not increased over previous patterns, describes mainly economic motivations and some fears, and says migrants seeking the Gulf often lack detailed knowledge of Yemen's conflict. He reports deaths from exhaustion near Balho but cannot access the group or confirm a total. Omondi Okoth gives 184,000 people displaced in Yemen as of October 4, with a weekly update pending. Coissac withholds a January-to-date/nationality breakdown until cross-checks are complete.

In its October 6 Djibouti briefing, IOM reports more than 3,700 refugees arriving from Yemen over the preceding three weeks after dangerous Red Sea crossings. Coissac distinguishes these people fleeing Yemen from migrants continuing toward Yemen or returning home. He says Djiboutian authorities have responded rapidly but resources and services are stretched, and asks for international support for Yemen arrivals and receiving communities in Obock. This is a public refugee-assistance appeal; it neither establishes the arrivals' precise onset nor announces completed new funding.