Volkswacht Bodensee - 'Nothing left': thousands in Yemen flee deadly Houthi clashes

They are among thousands of people driven from their homes since the Iran-backed rebels launched a broad offensive in areas near the Red Sea last week, their biggest in years.

Choking back tears as she shelters in a rudimentary hut of wood and straw, the mother describes her anguish for her four adult children who were unable to escape, trapped by the fighting.

"I fled on my own, terrified, on one of my sons' motorcycles. We have nothing left," said the woman in her fifties from the Muthalath al-Udain area of Hodeida province.

"We were forced to leave because of the Houthis," she told AFP, adding: "My children are still there -- they couldn't get out. I weep for them every day, waiting for them to escape."

Yemen's long-running conflict has flared into life after a four-year truce unravelled in July, as regional tensions rocketed during the Middle East war.

More than 500 people have died in clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces since last week, according to sources on both sides.

The Houthis are trying to seize territory along the Red Sea, where they have been attacking Saudi tankers. The route has become key for Saudi oil since Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for Gulf shipments.

Meanwhile a wave of Houthi attacks on Tuesday set Saudi oil sites ablaze and wounded dozens of people. On Wednesday, the rebels reported more than 40 Saudi reprisal strikes.

- 'We're exhausted' -

The renewed fighting in southwest Yemen has forced nearly 20,000 people to flee their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Saeed and her son found refuge in a camp for the displaced in Khokha on the Red Sea coast, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) from their village.

When AFP visited, she was carrying water in large, plastic jerry cans and hand-washing clothes in a bowl on the dirt floor.

"There's no aid. We're exhausted. Who will give us aid? Every time we're displaced from one place, war comes and forces us to leave again! Where can we go? We're tired of this situation."

Many of the camps in the Khokha area have been open since around 2018, when the last major escalation in Hodeida triggered a wave of displacement.

- 'It's a catastrophe' -

Mohammed Khudairi, who is sheltering in the same camp, described "sudden Houthi bombardment -- mortar shells, missiles, and drones".

"It's a catastrophe, and the attacks are ongoing. We managed to leave, but others remain trapped there," he said.

The Houthis have been at war since 2015 with a Saudi-led coalition, in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis.

Around 22.3 million people -- nearly two-thirds of the population -- were in need of humanitarian aid in 2025, including 5.2 million internally displaced, according to UN figures.

Jamal Al-Mashraqi, an official overseeing work in Hodeida province's displacement camps, said the violence had pushed about 7,500 people to seek refuge in the Hays and Khokha districts alone.

"Those families fled fearing death," he said, warning that aid was scarce.

"These families are still suffering from a lack of assistance with food, shelter and basic supplies," he told AFP.

K.Hofmann--VB