Yemen: Five things to know about the escalating crisis in the south
Escalating fighting along Yemen’s western coast has displaced thousands and deepened an already dire humanitarian crisis.
Amid ongoing hostilities, MSF is maintaining medical activities in Mocha and surrounding areas while scaling up its response to support displaced people in Aden and Lahj.
1. What is happening along Yemen’s western coast?
In September 2026, the Ansar Allah forces launched a rapid military offensive along Yemen’s western coast, seizing strategic locations areas including the port city of Mocha and areas surrounding the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The offensive extended into the district of Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city, disrupting key transport routes and blocking to the south. In response, the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government in Aden announced a counteroffensive on 5 October 2026.
Forces are reportedly advancing along multiple fronts towards Bab al-Mandab and Dhubab.
However, the extent of territorial gains and current control of the area remain unclear.
This escalation has triggered significant displacement with large numbers of people fleeing newly captured areas along Yemen’s western coast.
The influx of people is placing further strain on overstretched services, exacerbating humanitarian needs among populations affected by years of protracted conflict.
2. How is the escalation affecting humanitarian needs in Yemen?
This latest escalation comes against the backdrop of an already severe and chronically underfunded humanitarian crisis. Across Yemen, more than 22 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
According to UNHCR, 5.2 million people remain displaced across Yemen, including more than 200,000 who have been forced to flee their homes due to escalating insecurity over the past month.
Displaced people endured long and arduous journeys in search of safety.
Often people have to travel on foot through arid terrain, exposed to extreme heat with limited access to food, water and shelter.
Many have sought refuge in Lahj governorate and on the outskirts of Aden.
They face critical shortages of medical care and essential services.
Families are sheltering in overcrowded and makeshift conditions, including schools, mosques and informal settlements.
3. What are the most urgent medical needs on the ground?
Worsening food insecurity and the loss of livelihoods are contributing to rising rates of malnutrition and cholera. Simultaneously, access to healthcare and essential medical referrals are becoming increasingly difficult.
Across displacement camps in Lahj and Aden governorates, women and children account for 70 percent of patients treated by MSF mobile clinics.
Teams are seeing patients with skin infections, fever, diarrhoea and other communicable diseases, as well as foot injuries and eye and ear infections following long and arduous journeys.
With limited shelter available in host communities and displacement sites, MSF teams have also encountered families stranded along roadsides or sleeping under trees, exposed to harsh conditions.
4. How is MSF responding to the escalating needs?
MSF is working to ensure the continuity of medical care while supporting local health authorities respond to growing medical and humanitarian needs.
Before the latest escalation, medical needs in Mocha were critical, with many women arriving at Mocha General Hospital to give birth showing signs of malnutrition.
MSF continues to support paediatric and maternity services at Mocha General Hospital. Teams treated 567 patients in the emergency department and assisted 45 deliveries between 10 September and 6 October.
Further north, in Khokha, MSF-supported medical teams are providing between 130 and 160 consultations daily at the primary healthcare centre.
The facility’s cholera treatment unit has also been reactivated to provide care for patients with the disease.
Meanwhile, in Aden and Lahj governorates, MSF has deployed mobile clinics to reach people displaced by the ongoing violence.
Since 15 September, these teams have carried out 775 consultations and diagnosed 20 children with severe acute malnutrition.
MSF is also supporting local health authorities in strengthening their emergency response capacity.
This includes training and capacity-building activities at Ibn Khaldoun Hospital in Lahj, the donation of four trauma kits to hospitals in Taiz, and support to trauma services at Al-Jumhouria Hospital's emergency department in Aden, including medical donations.
5. What more is needed to respond to this crisis?
As the situation evolves, MSF continues to assess emerging needs and adapt its activities to reach people affected by the crisis.
However, a rapid scale-up of humanitarian assistance is urgently needed to ensure displaced people have access to basic necessities. This includes food, safe drinking water, sanitation and adequate shelter that safeguards peoples' health and dignity.
Ensuring access to medical care is more critical than ever.
Humanitarian actors and authorities must take urgent steps to ensure that essential medical services remain available and accessible.
At the same time, all parties to the conflict must respect their obligations to protect civilians, healthcare workers and medical facilities.
Healthcare must remain accessible and protected from the violence, allowing medical teams to work safely and patients to seek treatment and care without fear.
MSF in Yemen
Yemen is in the midst of a complex crisis driven by a brutal civil war. Since March 2015, a Saudi and Emirati-led coalition has been fighting anti-government Ansar Allah forces, resulting in widespread destruction, bombing and battles.
With over 18 million people currently estimated to need humanitarian assistance, our activities in Yemen are among our most extensive worldwide.