DOMINANT ANGLE
Ethiopia is gauging the Houthi crisis based on its own nationals repatriated from Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni refugees flocking to Djibouti, rather than the military calculations of London and Riyadh.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The IOM reports that thousands of people have been fleeing by boat across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Djibouti for ten days, on overcrowded vessels with little food.
- 02
The authorities at the Obock camp are preparing for the possible arrival of up to 10,000 refugees fleeing the Houthi offensive targeting a strategic island and the port of Mokha.
- 03
A total of 1,592 nationals were repatriated from Saudi Arabia on nine flights last week, including 34 minors, bringing the total to over 103,000 since September 15, 2025.
ANALYSIS
Addis-Abeba, Monday, September 21, 2026. For ten days, thousands of Yemenis have been fleeing the western coast of Yemen by boat across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to reach Djibouti, according to a BBC report filmed in the Obock camp. The International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, describes passengers "traveling on overcrowded boats and arriving with very little food and water". Local authorities are preparing for the possible arrival of up to 10,000 refugees. This influx is directly related to the Houthi movement's offensive, supported by Iran, to capture a strategic island and the port of Mokha — the same port where, according to the Houthi-affiliated Saba agency, strikes by the Saudi coalition have killed at least six people.
For Ethiopia, a neighbor of the Red Sea and a country of origin for tens of thousands of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, the crisis is first and foremost read through its own citizens. The Ministry of Women and Social Affairs has announced the repatriation of 1,592 Ethiopians from the Saudi kingdom, who arrived on nine flights last week, including 34 minors. They are being taken care of at the airport and in temporary accommodation centers while waiting to be reunited with their families. Launched on September 15, 2025, this operation has now brought back more than 103,000 Ethiopians, according to the ministry, which presents it as the central pillar of a "citizen-centered diplomacy" under the Medemer state.
None of the two available sources mention British support for the in-flight refueling of Saudi fighter jets, or the G7 statement demanding that Iran stop arming the Houthis. The Ethiopian reading of the file remains anchored in its two most concrete dimensions for the country: regional migration pressure towards the Horn of Africa, and the fate of its diaspora in Saudi Arabia, caught in the turmoil of the neighboring kingdom. This "citizen-centered" diplomacy prioritizes consular protection over regional military arbitration, while Riyadh seeks external support in the face of a Houthi campaign that shows no signs of weakening.
