Africa’s Red Sea states face growing risks as Houthi rebels expand their reach

USS Carney engages Houthi missiles in the Red Sea in October 2023. Wikimedia Commons https://theconversation.com/africas-red-sea-states-face-growing-risks-as-houthi-rebels-expand-their-reach-292160 https://theconversation.com/africas-red-sea-states-face-growing-risks-as-houthi-rebels-expand-their-reach-292160 Link copied Share article Share article

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The Houthi takeover of parts of the Red Sea gives the armed group a new platform to challenge global shipping . The group has taken over the port of Mocha, the island of Mayyun, and the Zuqar and Hanish archipelago about 160km north of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait . These areas were previously controlled by Yemeni government forces.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is a narrow maritime chokepoint roughly 32km wide. Lying between the Arabian Peninsula to the north-east and the Horn of Africa to the south-west, it directly links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.