Yemeni Civilians Flee as Houthi-Saudi Conflict Continues

Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen exchanged more cross-border drone, missile, and aircraft strikes on Thursday.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that over 100,000 Yemeni civilians have been displaced by the fighting, with many seeking to flee across the dangerous Red Sea to Djibouti.

Saudi civil defense officials said a Yemeni national living in Saudi Arabia was killed by falling debris from a Houthi drone intercepted over the city of Taif. Two other people were injured during the drone intercept.

Several of the Muslim countries that denounced the Houthi drone attack on Mecca earlier this week also slammed the Houthi attack on civilian targets in Taif, including Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain, which repeated its call for the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) to take action against the Houthis. The Arab League also “strongly condemned” the Taif attack.

The European Union (EU) expressed “full solidarity with Saudi Arabia” on Thursday and called on the Houthis to “cease all military action.”

“The targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure is unacceptable. Houthi attacks undermine prospects for a non-military solution of the conflict in Yemen and further undermine regional security,” the EU statement said.

The Houthis claimed “three children were killed and several Yemeni nationals were injured in strikes by the Saudi-backed mercenaries” in the Yemen towns of Taiz and Abs. The “mercenaries” comment was a derogatory reference to forces working for the internationally-recognized government of Yemen.

Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, leader of the Houthi movement, insisted on Thursday that Saudi civilian energy infrastructure was a legitimate target, and said attacks would continue for as long as the Saudis and Yemen government forces continue military operations in Yemen.

The Houthi leader insisted his forces have not deliberately targeted civilians, and denied responsibility for the drone attack on Mecca on Tuesday, calling the story a “fabrication.”

“We want the Saudis to cease their blockade and occupation of our country, and to stop their aggression against us. This is our demand!” Maliki said in a televised speech, while seated in front of a banner bearing the Houthi slogan: “Death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews, victory for Islam.”

The U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that at least 112,000 civilians have been displaced inside Yemen over the past two weeks, and another 3,000 used boats to cross the Gulf of Aden and flee to Djibouti.

The government of Djibouti said it was expecting up to 10,000 refugees from the war in Yemen, a population its healthcare and other social services would be hard-pressed to accommodate.

Somaliland and Puntland, two semi-autonomous provinces of Somalia, also reported receiving a few hundred refugees from Yemen.