Obsa Abdullah, a 24-year-old Ethiopian migrant, tries to move around using crutches inside an International Organization for Migration center in Aden.
He says that his left leg was hit by a bullet four months ago while trying to reach Saudi Arabia in search of a job opportunity.
Abdullah lives in the city of Aden with a number of African migrants, on the streets or in temporary shelters, relying to varying degrees on aid provided by humanitarian organizations or local initiatives.
The International Organization for Migration recorded the entry of about 134,000 migrants into Yemen by the end of September 2026, an increase of 22 percent compared to the total number of arrivals during the year 2025.
Large numbers of Ethiopians constitute the majority of migrants coming through this route, as many of them leave their country driven by economic factors or internal armed conflict, in the hope of reaching the Gulf states through Yemeni territory.
Fleeing conflict
Salmon Haile, 35 years old and from the Ethiopian Tigray region, says that he left his country five months ago, after he was able to leave his place of detention.
He adds that members of his family were killed during the events that took place in the region, and that he was arrested before leaving the country.
The war broke out between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front in 2020, before the Pretoria Peace Agreement was signed in 2022. Despite the end of the large-scale war, the region witnessed tensions and sporadic confrontations during the following years, amid disagreements regarding the implementation of some of the terms of the agreement, including disarmament issues and disputed areas.
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Haley says he paid about a thousand dollars to smugglers to reach Aden.
According to his account, his journey took six days from Tigray to Somalia, then to the Djibouti-Somalia border region, before setting off by sea from the Djiboutian city of Oboch to Yemen on a rickety boat.
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He added: "When I arrived in Aden, I spent four months detained by two smugglers in a house with five other people. The smugglers were beating me and demanding additional sums of money. After one of the smugglers died and the other left, we were able to get out, and now I live on the street."
According to the International Organization for Migration, the route between Djibouti and Yemen has become more dangerous, with reports of kidnapping, extortion, and violations against some migrants during the journey.
The US Department of State's 2025 Human Trafficking Report also indicated that migrants in Yemen, including Ethiopians, are exposed to various forms of exploitation, including forced labor and coercion into criminal activities, according to the report.
Haley says he does not currently plan to return to Ethiopia, and hopes to continue his trip to Saudi Arabia if circumstances permit.
A dangerous road
The International Organization for Migration expects migratory movement via the sea route between Djibouti and Yemen to continue, driven by factors including economic pressures, food insecurity, high levels of debt, and limited job opportunities in some countries of origin.
The journey of many migrants begins from the border area between Djibouti and Somalia, before moving on to one of the two main routes leading to Yemen. The sea route from the city of Oboch in Djibouti to areas in southern Yemen is one of the most widely used routes.
As for the second path, which is the most difficult, Obsa took it three years ago to escape compulsory conscription into the Ethiopian government forces.
He says that he set off on this path from the city of Harar, eastern Ethiopia, through Somalia and reaching the city of Bossaso, before crossing the sea to the Yemeni governorate of Shabwa.
He says: "The journey took five days, and I only had dates and water. I paid the smugglers $125, and after arriving in Yemen I worked in agriculture for a while in order to cover the costs of continuing the journey."
He added that in Shabwa, he saw people detained by smugglers due to disputes over the money requested from them, and some of them were beaten.
Obsa also says that his latest injury was not during the first attempt to reach Saudi Arabia, but rather came after four previous attempts.
According to his account, the group he was part of came under fire near the border, which led to his injury and the death of four of his companions.
Yemeni government forces, which were close to the site of the accident, transferred OBSA to a hospital in Saada, where he was treated and operated on. He stayed in the hospital for two months, before the police transferred him to Aden, where he received some assistance from the International Organization for Migration center for more than two months, and visited it every three days to change the bandages on his leg wound.
After months of not communicating with his family, Obsa says that he has become able to speak to them regularly on the phone, and that he is currently thinking about returning to Ethiopia if he can afford the travel costs.
Attempts to survive
The challenges that migrants face are not limited to the dangers of the journey or what they are exposed to at the hands of smugglers, but also include living conditions and security conditions in Yemen, as many of them find themselves unable to continue traveling or return to their countries.
Aisha Saeed, assistant protection officer at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Aden, says that the renewed fighting in some Yemeni areas has affected refugees and migrants, including those coming from African countries fleeing conflicts and wars.
She adds that some families reside in areas close to the contact lines or in camps affected by security developments, which increases psychological pressures and limits the ability to move or search for job opportunities.
It also indicates that high housing costs make obtaining suitable shelter difficult for many, given limited sources of income.
She says: “In cooperation with the International Organization for Migration, we provide cash, food and medical assistance to those in need, but we face challenges related to the decline in humanitarian funding.”
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In recent years, humanitarian organizations working in Yemen have witnessed funding pressures that have affected some aid programs, at a time when humanitarian needs are increasing in the country.
Aisha confirms the continued arrival of migrants from the countries of the Horn of Africa to Yemen, noting that international organizations seek to continue providing support, especially to the most vulnerable groups, such as women and children, to avoid the spread of negative phenomena such as child labor.
Data from the International Organization for Migration indicate that 64,000 sea crossings were recorded from the Horn of Africa to Yemen during the first four months of 2026, in a continuation of a migration path that is considered among the most dangerous in the region.
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