Aden (South24 Center)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that more than 97,000 migrants arrived in Yemen during the first six months of 2026.

In its latest monthly report, the IOM said its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) recorded the arrival of 13,339 migrants in Yemen in June, marking a 15% increase compared with May, when 11,587 migrants were registered.

According to the report, the total number of migrant arrivals in Yemen from the beginning of the year through the end of June reached 97,174.

The report said that around 80% of migrants who entered Yemen in June departed from Djibouti. Of those, 75% entered through Abyan governorate and 25% through Taiz governorate. The remaining 20% departed from Somalia, with all of them arriving through Shabwah governorate.

The IOM attributed the increase, particularly in Abyan, to the suspension of security campaigns targeting smugglers’ compounds during June. The pause followed intensified operations in previous months that had helped curb smuggling activities and reduce migrant movements.

Yemen remains one of the main routes for irregular migration from the Horn of Africa toward the Arabian Peninsula. Migrants, most of them from Ethiopia and Somalia, use the country as a transit point in search of job opportunities and better economic conditions, or to escape local conflicts.

The figures come as international organizations continue to warn of the vulnerability of migrants in Yemen. Migrants face risks of exploitation, smuggling, detention, and violence, in addition to the impact of the war and the deterioration of basic services in arrival and transit areas, particularly in coastal governorates such as Shabwah, Abyan, and Taiz.

A previous report by South24 Center highlighted the growing pressure on Shabwah, saying the coastal governorate has rapidly become a major transit point on the “Eastern Route” from the Horn of Africa toward the Gulf. The report noted that Shabwah’s long and largely uninhabited coastline, stretching between 220 and 300 kilometers, has made it a preferred destination for smuggling networks amid weak maritime monitoring and limited local resources.

Local officials and experts told South24 that the scale of migration flows has exceeded the governorate’s available capacities. They warned that the crisis has combined humanitarian, security, social, and service-related dimensions, placing pressure on health facilities, water and electricity services, and local communities, while also increasing the risks of exploitation and human trafficking.

On April 20, the Yemeni government discussed an executive roadmap with an IOM delegation in Aden aimed at curbing irregular migration flows. The plan included establishing main reception centers in Aden, a specialized center in Khor Omeirah in Lahj governorate, and activating field registration points in Amran, Ras al-Arah, Ahwar, Shaqra, and Mayfaa.

The discussions followed repeated drowning incidents involving migrants off the coast of Shabwah, most notably the deaths of several migrants in March after a smuggling boat ran aground off the Al-Juwayri coast in Radum district.

These incidents underscore the growing dangers facing migrants as they cross the “Eastern Route” toward Yemen, where smuggling networks operate under highly hazardous maritime and security conditions.