War in and around Yemen: More and more people in Yemen are displaced by fighting

dpa/afp/ap More and more people are having to flee because of the ongoing fighting in Yemen. UN Secretary-General António Guterres' spokesman said 280,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of August, citing figures from the UN emergency relief office OCHA. According to UN figures, there were 250,000 people on October 17th.

More than half are now in Tais Governorate. Access for humanitarian aid has become more difficult. “Damage to a key road linking Taiz to Yemen’s southern provinces is forcing aid agencies to reroute supplies along narrow mountain roads.”

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) also warns against sexual violence, human trafficking and forced marriages, especially in overcrowded accommodation. More than 230,000 people urgently needed help with water and sanitation.

The civil war in Yemen has flared up again in the wake of the Iran War. The Iran-backed Houthi militia took large parts of the western coast of the Red Sea in an offensive and also advanced into other provinces. The Yemeni government is trying to push back the rebels with the help of allied militias and Saudi Arabia.

The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia says it has repelled and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis that was aimed at the east of the kingdom, coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said on Thursday on the online service X.

The Houthis have been attacking targets in Saudi Arabia almost every day for weeks. An attack on Riyadh's international airport on October 10 killed 13 people and injured more than 300 others. On Tuesday, Houthi spokesman Jahja Saree announced an attack with a ballistic missile on Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery in Ras Tanura in the east of the country.

On Wednesday, the Houthi militia-controlled Al-Masirah broadcaster reported attacks on the strategically important island of Majun. The island at the southern end of the Bab al-Mandab Strait was attacked from the air. The Houthi rebels blamed the Saudi-led military coalition for the attacks.

The Houthis captured the island, also known as Perim, in September. Around 12 percent of the world's traded goods were once transported through the Bab al-Mandab Strait. After the Strait of Hormuz was lost as a trade route due to the Iran War, it became an important alternative route for Saudi oil and other exports - until the capture of Majun by the Houthis.

According to a preliminary tally, attacks on a market and a gas station in the northwestern province of Jawf left 14 dead and 15 injured, including women and children, Al-Masirah reported on Wednesday.

According to the internationally recognized government, the Houthi rebels attacked the international airport in the southern port city of Aden again on Wednesday. The state news agency Saba reported, citing the Ministry of Transport, that the airport was attacked with several ballistic missiles. The airport has been attacked six times in the past few days.

The repeated attacks on the key civilian facility endangered the lives of passengers, crew members and airport staff, the statement said. They could also affect travel and humanitarian aid efforts. The ministry blamed the Houthis for the attacks and their consequences. There was initially no information about damage or victims.

The Houthis had previously called for the airport to be evacuated. The reason given was that a Saudi military transport plane was allegedly bringing weapons to the airport. Saudi Arabia did not comment. Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of fueling the escalation of the conflict. Tehran denies any involvement in the Houthis' attacks.