Red Sea

Landlocked Ethiopia says sovereign access to the Red Sea is an 'existential' issue, and its troops are now massing on the border with its smaller neighbour, Eritrea. What next?

Their defence ties date back decades, so it is no surprise Egypt is standing by Saudi Arabia at a critical time for both countries

The leaders of Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea met in Alamein on Sunday, which some interpret as a formation of a loose security alliance aimed at influencing the geopolitics of the Horn of Africa

Understanding the Yemen-based militia now exerting control over international shipping in the Red Sea means understanding its roots, context, and regional alliances

Had the anti-Houthi units been working in coordination, their enemy would not have progressed so easily down Yemen's Red Sea coast, but infighting and a lack of leadership opened the door

The US is backing Saudi Arabia against the Yemeni rebel group without physically joining the war, reflecting a broader strategy of limiting US exposure

The Iran-backed militia has seized most of western Yemen to effectively control the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the gateway to the Red Sea and therefore the Suez Canal

The Yemeni army has so far succeeded in thwarting a Houthi advance toward the strategically vital western coast, but should the group succeed, it would give Iran a huge boost

Both the government in Addis Ababa and armed Tigrayan independence fighters have their supporters, from as near as next door to as far away as Tel Aviv