Yemen - Fighting between Houthi and government-aligned armed groups near villages on the border of the Mukayras and Lawdar district earlier this month displaced hundreds of families from the area, pushing them further south into the Lawdar district in Yemen.

IOM field teams identified almost 6,500 newly internally displaced persons (IDPs.) Of the 925 households identified, 135 were pushed from Mukayras into Lawdar district. The vast majority, 790 households, were internally displaced from villages within Lawdar that bordered both Mukayras and Al Bayda districts. 

On October 11, IOM Yemen conducted a rapid needs assessment in the informal settlements in which the IDPs were residing – often in the open – in Lawdar and successfully registered 925 households between October 18 and 20.

Distribution of non-food item (NFI) relief kits containing mattresses, blankets, a kitchen set and jerry can, plastic sheeting and ropes, started on 23 October.

While distribution was scheduled earlier, the operation was temporarily suspended due to ongoing air strikes in Mukayras, Al Bayda governorate. 

So far, seven trucks carrying a total of 470 NFI kits have arrived in Lawdar and were successfully distributed. Another 280 kits will arrive in coming days and will be distributed upon arrival.

This intervention was made possible by support from IOM’s shelter programme in Yemen, which is funded by agencies including the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, the UK Department for International Development, and the Humanitarian Pooled Fund.

For further information please contact Stefano Pes at IOM Yemen, Tel: +967 734000385, Email: spes@iom.int