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More than three million uprooted by conflict in Yemen

Countries
Yemen
Sources
IOM
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Publication date

Figures released today by UNHCR and IOM show that forced displacement across Yemen is on the rise. The conflict has now uprooted 3,154,572 people which include 2,205,102 individuals who remain displaced across the country and some 949,470 displaced people who have attempted to return home.

The figures appear in the latest report of the Task Force on Population Movement (TFPM), a technical working group led by UNHCR and IOM as part of the humanitarian response to the crisis in Yemen.

Amid escalating conflict and worsening humanitarian conditions, displacement across the country has seen an increase of seven per cent since April, with 152,009 individuals fleeing from violence within this period. “The crisis is forcing more and more people to leave their homes in search of safety.
More than three million people now live in very transient and precarious situations, struggling to cover basic needs,” said Ita Schuette, UNHCR’s Deputy Representative in Yemen.

Whilst the report also confirms a significant number of displaced people are attempting to return home, a 24 per cent increase of some 184,491 individuals, the report cautions that movements remain fluid and correlate to moments of lulls or perceived improvements in the conflict.

Laurent De Boeck, IOM Chief of Mission to Yemen emphasized the importance of ensuring that “IDP returnees are considered to remain within the displacement cycle as long as they have not achieved a sustainable reintegration and their needs remain high, as is also the case for the non-displaced host community.”

The report paints a worrying picture of life for those displaced, evidencing challenges to basic survival with overwhelming needs continuing to be the essentials; food, followed by shelter and drinking water.

Prolonged displacement is also impacting adversely on local communities that are hosting uprooted populations, substantially increasing pressures on already scarce resources. The majority of those displaced, some 62 per cent, are being hosted on the generosity of family and friends while others are using unsuitable shelters.

As the conflict continues unabated the average length of time people are having to spend away from home is also increasing. Most of those uprooted, 89 per cent, have been displaced for no less than ten months.

The TFPM report also includes data on displacement related to natural hazards. Currently, 24,744 individuals remain displaced by cyclones and floods, however 41,730 affected persons have since returned home.

Cumulatively, owing to conflict and natural disasters, eight per cent of Yemen’s population now remains displaced.

The report consolidates data from the UNHCR Population Movement Tracking system and the IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix, enabling the release of the most comprehensive estimates of displaced population figures and trends in Yemen to date.

Read the full report here

For more information contact:

Shabia Mantoo, Public Information Officer, UNHCR: +962 7 9614 3158, mantoo@unhcr.org
Twitter.com/UNHCRYemen
Facebook.com/UNHCRYemen

Duncan Sullivan, Project Officer DTM, Emergency and Humanitarian Assistance, IOM: + 967 735 800 659, dsullivan@iom.int

Twitter.com/IOM_Yemen