Nearly 4000 people fleeing Yemen reach Obock in northern Djibouti within a week

José Barahona, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Djibouti, said that nearly 4000 people fleeing the conflict in Yemen have arrived in northern Djibouti. He spoke by video link from Djibouti to journalists in New York.

The Arabic-language UN News report quotes him as saying the arrivals came within a period of no more than one week. The French-language report says they came within a few days, at the start of an escalation in the fighting that he dated to a month earlier. Both reports give the figure as nearly 4000. The reports do not say who counted them.

The refugees crossed the Red Sea and reached Obock, a small coastal town of 20,000 people in the desert north of the country. According to the French-language report, most fled bombing of their home areas, including around the port of Mokha on Yemen's west coast. Mr Barahona relayed what newcomers told him: they had seen bombs fall on houses, destroy them and kill people. More than half of the refugees are children, and most of the rest are women, the report says. It does not name the parties to the fighting.

Obock already struggles to supply water and food. Mr Barahona said 25% of the local population there are food insecure. The French-language report adds that Djibouti missed its short rainy season, which it links in part to the El Niño weather phenomenon. Mr Barahona described the mix of refugees from Yemen, stranded migrants and a drought-weakened local population as a perfect storm in this part of Djibouti.

Obock also lies on a migration route. Between 250,000 and 300,000 migrants pass through Djibouti each year, mostly from rural Ethiopia, hoping to cross to Yemen and then reach Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states to find work. The French-language report says the worsening conflict in Yemen has made that crossing harder, and many migrants are now stuck in Obock with very little water and food.

Mr Barahona also pointed to a recent shipwreck off the Djibouti coast. A boat carrying more than 300 people sank. The bodies of 139 people have been recovered and 84 are missing. The French-language report adds that more than 200 people may have died.

UN agencies are part of the response, and the UN is therefore a party to this story. According to Mr Barahona, the UN refugee agency is supporting registration of the new arrivals. The International Organization for Migration is providing 1500 hot meals twice a day. The UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, is working on water supply. The World Food Programme is providing food. The French-language report says the International Organization for Migration also runs a reception centre in Obock for migrants, but many stay outside it in the town.

The French-language report says the response to the new crisis needs about 7 million dollars, and that part of this sum has been confirmed so far. Mr Barahona said there is a limit to what Djibouti can provide. He said it is unrealistic to expect Djibouti to carry the burden of refugees and migrants arriving in and passing through the country alone without harm to its budget and development. He called on international partners to back the government and the host communities.