Refugees arriving in Djibouti say while they can reason with forces on the ground, there is no protection against fighter jets and bombs

Ben Farmer

Africa Correspondent,

in Obock

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Ben is based in South Africa and also works on The Telegraph's Global Health Security team. He spent five years in Kabul covering the Afghanistan war, five years as Defence Correspondent in London, and four years in Islamabad

Published 05 October 2026 4:54pm BST

The Houthi militiamen had barely chased the government forces out of Alia Mohammad’s coastal village when the bombing began in a Saudi-backed attempt to recapture it .

Caught in the middle were Ms Mohammad, her family and their neighbours near the town of Dhubab, overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb strait, or ‘Gate of Tears’.

As the roar of planes split the sky over their heads and explosions shook their village, it took little time for them to decide what to do.

Born from generations of fishermen, they resolved to take to the sea and flee their homes in…