Yemen crisis deepens as thousands flee to Djibouti amid escalating conflict

Thousands of Yemeni families are crossing the Bab al-Mandab Strait by boat, abandoning their homes for the relative safety of northern Djibouti. They are fleeing a war that has no mercy for civilians—a conflict between Houthi forces and Saudi-backed government troops that has turned entire towns into active combat zones. The BBC's Frank Gardner spoke with some of these refugees after they arrived in Djibouti, and their accounts paint a picture of families driven to desperation by relentless aerial bombardment.

Ibrahim Issa, a 50-year-old fisherman, was among those Gardner interviewed. Issa came from Dhubab, a town that sits directly on the front lines of Yemen's war. He described the moment he decided to leave: his children screaming and shaking with terror whenever they heard aircraft overhead. "When the sound of the planes starts, and the kids hear the planes, they begin shouting and screaming," he told Gardner. "As parents, it is our responsibility; what can you do when you see this? That is why we fled, to save them." His words capture something that runs through nearly every refugee account Gardner collected—a numbness to the question of which side is dropping the bombs. The refugees told him the same thing repeatedly: they do not distinguish between Houthi and Saudi-backed forces anymore. What matters is that bombs are falling, and they are falling everywhere.

The exodus reflects the deepening humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Yemen. Families are making the dangerous crossing by sea because staying has become unbearable. The psychological toll on children exposed to constant aerial attacks is severe. Parents watch their kids flinch at the sound of engines. They see the terror in their faces. And they make the calculation that a boat ride across open water, however perilous, is preferable to another day waiting for the next strike.

Meanwhile, the political machinery of the conflict continues to turn. President Trump spent roughly two weeks considering repeated requests from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for renewed American military intervention against the Houthis. The Saudis were pressing for action as Houthi offensives expanded and the pressure on their own forces mounted. On Wednesday, Trump told advisers he opposed launching strikes. But after a Thursday call with bin Salman, he reversed himself entirely. He instructed the Pentagon to prepare airstrikes against Houthi targets. Military planners moved quickly. Target lists were approved. Ordnance was loaded onto aircraft. The first wave of attacks was minutes away from beginning.

Then, by midday Sunday, Trump changed his mind again. The strikes were called off at the last possible moment—when the machinery of war was already in motion, when soldiers were arming weapons, when commanders were standing by for the order to launch. The decision halted an operation that was nearly impossible to stop once it had begun. No public explanation was offered for the reversal. The Pentagon stood down. The aircraft were unloaded. The bombs stayed in their racks.

What happens next remains unclear. The humanitarian crisis in Yemen shows no signs of slowing. More families will likely attempt the crossing to Djibouti as the conflict grinds on. The question of whether the United States will eventually intervene militarily—and if so, whether that intervention will accelerate the displacement or contain it—hangs over everything. For now, the refugees arriving in Djibouti represent only those desperate enough to risk the sea. Many more remain trapped in the war zone, waiting.