Displacement around the Marib front line, Yemen
Marib governorate, Yemen. Reported onset 1 January 2020.
TL;DR
Marib hosts one of the largest concentrations of internally displaced people in Yemen, built up over years of frontline fighting. Sites there are informal and dispersed, so tracking relies on site assessments rather than registration lists.
What happened
- Successive offensives across the districts around Marib city pushed households towards the city and its outskirts over several years.
- Arrivals settled in informal sites on open land, in unfinished buildings and with host families rather than in planned camps.
- Frontline shifts inside the governorate repeatedly displaced people who had already settled in these sites.
Why it matters for the data
- Informal and dispersed settlement makes site assessment the main tracking method, and coverage varies between rounds.
- Marib illustrates how a single governorate can absorb displacement from many others, which distorts comparisons between governorates.
- Funding shortfalls change service coverage at sites faster than the population figure changes.
What to watch next
- IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix Yemen rapid displacement tracking and site assessments.
- OCHA Yemen humanitarian updates on site level service coverage.
- Frontline reporting from ACLED for districts surrounding Marib city.
Where the figures come from
This page does not publish population figures for the event. Numbers for an active event change faster than any single page can responsibly restate them, and access restrictions mean estimates carry wide uncertainty. The organisations below publish the current figures and the methodology behind them.
Country context
For the wider picture, see the Yemen displacement dashboard, which tracks conflict events, population movement and humanitarian needs on a rolling basis.