Yemen - Escalating violence in the city of Al Mokha continues to cause mass displacement. Al Mokha is a strategic port city in Taiz governorate, which is one of Yemen’s most brutal conflict zones and currently hosts approximately 273,780 internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Last month, displacement from Al Mokha spiked as fighting intensified. IOM activated its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) in Al Mokha immediately after the clashes erupted. So far, IOM has tracked a total of 34,920 displaced individuals from Al Mokha into neighbouring areas.

IOM has responded by distributing a total of 1,200 core relief items, including mattresses, blankets, sleeping mats, kitchen sets and water buckets, to some 8,400 displaced people in Al Ma’afir, Dhubab, Jabal Habashi, and Al Mudhaffar. It also distributed 900 hygiene kits, containing hand soap, washing powder, jerry cans, sanitary pads, water jugs, toothpaste and toothbrushes.

“IOM is looking at faster interventions to provide a better humanitarian response to populations affected by the ongoing conflict; this is critical for hundreds of thousands of Yemenis today,” said IOM Yemen Chief of Mission Laurent De Boeck.

“We are expanding our operations through strategic partnerships with international and local organizations, and have moved towards more decentralized hubs within the country, enabling quicker decision-making and closer coordination with beneficiaries,” he added.

Through 2016, and despite restricted access to Taiz, IOM successfully reached 23,376 individuals, providing them with shelter and core relief support. It also launched a series of lifesaving water and sanitation projects, which included trucking water to vital health facilities and IDP sites, rehabilitation of water networks, and the provision of new water pumps to help over 56,000 displaced people affected by the conflict in the governorate.

IOM Yemen is seeking additional financial support to expand its operations and to respond to the needs of the most affected vulnerable populations throughout the country. Please see IOM’s Yemen Appeal and further details here.

For further information, please contact Saba Malme at IOM Yemen, Tel: + 967 736 800 329, Email: smalme@iom.int