Natural Disasters Increase Displacement Rates to 34% in Yemen

Aid worker helps build camps for the displaced in Marib, Yemen (United Nations)
Aid worker helps build camps for the displaced in Marib, Yemen (United Nations)
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Natural Disasters Increase Displacement Rates to 34% in Yemen

Aid worker helps build camps for the displaced in Marib, Yemen (United Nations)
Aid worker helps build camps for the displaced in Marib, Yemen (United Nations)

A majority of Yemen's internally displaced wish to return to their areas of origin, contrary to previous data from last year's beginning, according to recent data by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

According to data in the second half of 2022, 41 percent of the families interviewed planned to remain in their current displacement sites despite widespread concerns about a lack of essential services, while 28 percent had yet to decide.

According to the data, plans to stay in the sites are often linked to security concerns, less than third of the families reported plans to return (31 percent), compared to seven percent in previous data.

-Livelihood concerns

Marib, Hodeidah, and Taiz recorded the highest levels of new displacement, showing that around 41 percent of all respondent households planned to stay in their current locations at the assessment time.

The families most commonly cited insecurity in places of origin (42 percent), followed by concerns about livelihood opportunities (35 percent).

As a secondary reason for staying, the questionnaire revealed that livelihood concerns ranked highest on the list (48 percent), followed by worries about shelter in places of origin (11 percent) and security concerns (11 percent).

In response to a request to identify three potential risks while staying in displacement sites, almost all households cited a lack of essential services, such as food, health, water, and education (98 percent).

About 15 percent cited insecurity as a risk in their current locations. Only 4 percent reported a risk of hostility from host communities outside the IDP sites.

The list of highest priority needs expected during the extended stay in the current IDP sites was mainly identified as food (95 percent), water (60 percent), shelter (57 percent), and health care (53 percent).

In addition, 12 percent of families indicated the need for security in IDP sites. More than two-thirds of respondents who intend to stay reported having plans to make a living in their current displacement sites (68 percent) in agriculture, construction, and other daily work activities.

- Disasters increased displacement

According to another UNFPA report, the six months truce led to a decrease fighting, which led to an 18 percent drop in the displacement rate over the past year, but warns that natural disasters, such as severe seasonal floods and drought, disrupted livelihoods, rescue missions, and services.

According to the UN response mechanism led by the Population Fund, 447,000 individuals were assisted during 2022. Among the newly displaced, 62 percent were displaced due to the conflict, while 38 percent were displaced due to heavy rains and floods.

In turn, IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix assessed current intentions for the return of IDPs in 20 IDP sites in Aden.

New displacements to and within Aden were relatively uncommon in 2022, constituting two percent of all registered new removals.

Most families arrived from Hodeidah (75 percent), and 19 percent arrived from Taiz, which indicates that most migrated families from the west coast came to Aden.



War Shakes Middle East Airports, Passengers Held Hostage

Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)
Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)
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War Shakes Middle East Airports, Passengers Held Hostage

Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)
Passengers wait at Beirut airport amid disruptions caused by Israeli-Iranian conflict (EPA)

The Israeli-Iranian war has severely disrupted air traffic across the Middle East, causing widespread airport closures and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Travelers have been left stranded or forced to reroute their journeys amid altered takeoff and landing schedules, with many airports affected by military use of their airspace by both Tel Aviv and Tehran for warplanes, missiles, and drones.

Thousands of passengers have had to substitute flights with land or sea travel to avoid danger or endure long waits for alternate air transport.

Since the Israeli airstrikes on Iran that began in the early hours of last Friday, followed by Iran’s retaliatory drone and missile attacks, the airspace over Israel, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq has been closed.

Aviation sources reported that more than 650 flights bound for Europe were canceled. Gulf and European carriers have suspended flights to countries caught in the conflict zone.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that airlines are now using safer flight routes, deliberately avoiding Iraqi, Syrian, Jordanian, and Lebanese airspace, as well as the fully closed skies of Israel and Iran.

Some carriers operating emergency flights to Beirut, Amman, and Egypt are following strict safety protocols.

Flights departing Beirut airport are routed westward over the Mediterranean Sea toward Cyprus and then Greece, before continuing to Europe or the Gulf, deliberately avoiding Lebanese, Syrian, and Iraqi airspace—a sharp contrast to pre-conflict routes.

Several Arab and European airlines, including Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, Air France, Transavia, Lufthansa, Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Pegasus, continue to suspend flights to the region. The disruption has hit operations at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport, which experienced chaos in the initial days of the war and widespread passenger panic.

However, the airport has since begun stabilizing. Amin Jaber, Director General of Civil Aviation at Rafic Hariri Airport, said the facility “has overcome the initial disruption quickly by implementing swift solutions for stranded travelers.”

He added that a newly formed crisis management committee is closely monitoring risks hour by hour to keep flights clear of security threats.

Jaber confirmed that the conflict “has forced the crisis committee to adopt multiple flight paths for arrivals and departures at Rafic Hariri Airport.”

“Due to security concerns, we rely on the western runway, which is the safest, and use Cypriot airspace to steer aircraft away from missile threats. Whenever missile launches are detected, Lebanese airspace is immediately closed to all flights,” Jaber added.

The disruptions seen at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport mirror the wider chaos across the region’s airports. Jaber said all airlines operating arrivals and departures at Beirut have comprehensive risk assessments in place.

Beirut airport experienced significant turmoil during the first two days of the conflict, with hundreds of passengers forced to wait indefinitely after numerous flight cancellations and schedule changes.

Many opted to leave the airport and return to the city amid the uncertainty. Jaber noted that conditions have since improved both at Beirut and other airports that have partially suspended operations.

Before any civilian aircraft takes off or lands, airport authorities and airlines ensure no immediate threats jeopardize the safety of planes or passengers.

Former Middle East Airlines (MEA) pilot Mohammad Aziz told Asharq Al-Awsat that flight safety responsibility rests not with pilots alone, but with the risk assessment committees, civil aviation authorities, airport management, and air traffic control towers guiding pilots during flight.

Aziz revealed that planes are equipped with large fuel reserves allowing extended flight time to accommodate emergencies requiring route changes or longer airborne holding patterns.

Currently serving as a safety and security advisor to MEA’s chairman, Captain Aziz highlighted that Rafic Hariri Airport is among the least vulnerable to missile threats because its flight paths are directed west and north. He warned, however, that the greatest danger lies in flights over Syrian territory.

“Despite this,” Aziz said, “Beirut airport management exercises the utmost caution. The control tower and airport authorities remain on high alert, maintaining constant communication with pilots to reroute or divert flights to alternate airports if evolving conditions threaten aircraft and passengers.”