Fleeing violence, hundreds of Yemenis shelter in Djibouti

Other Yemenis have sought refuge in Eritrea and Somalia.

In this Friday, March 6, 2015 photo, a Syrian refugee hangs her laundry to dry at an informal tented settlement in the Jordan Valley, Jordan. Aid officials say those in the makeshift camps are among the most vulnerable of close to 625,000 Syrians who fled to Jordan and have registered with the U.N. refugee agency.(AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

The U.N. refugee agency says more than 300 Yemenis fleeing violence at home have arrived in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti.

Frederic Van Hamme said the agency had registered 243 people and that 65 more people arrived on Thursday.

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Other Yemenis have sought refuge in Eritrea and Somalia, reversing a trend in which refugees fleeing violence and poverty in Somalia and Eritrea have crossed the waters into Yemen.

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The International Committee of the Red Cross is scaling up its operations in Djibouti in anticipation of a possible influx of Yemeni refugees, Jason Straziuso, the East Africa spokesman for the agency, said Thursday.

At least 643 civilians and combatants have been killed in fighting in Yemen since March 19, according to the World Health Organization.

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