Djibouti — Flow Monitoring Report (December 2020)

During the month of December 2020, 6,908 movements were observed at flow monitoring points in Djibouti representing a daily average of 223 movements. This is a 15% increase from the 194 average daily movements observed in November. Of these 6, 908 movements, 21% were observed at Obock. This coastal region of Djibouti is used by migrants traveling to the Arab Peninsula, crossing the Gulf of Aden on boats along the Eastern Route. From January to June, the number of entries from Djibouti's western borders decreased by 99% due to the closure of Ethiopian borders. Since Djibouti and Ethiopia resumed land services in July, the number of entries from Ethiopia have increased sharply; they went from 504 movements observed in July to 3,278 in December 2020. At the same time, due to movement restrictions due to COVID-19 in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, more than 6, 094 Ethiopians have arrived in Djibouti since May 2020. Between May and December 2020, the number of arrivals from Yemen has been multiplied by seven, from 109 in May to 764 in December 2020.