Houthi capture of Perim Island intensifies Red Sea crisis near Djibouti

The Middle East conflict has escalated near the coast of Africa following the capture of Yemen's Perim Island by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in September, Deutsche Welle reported. In early October, Yemen's Armed Forces and their Saudi allies launched a counteroffensive to push back the group. The island sits at the narrowest point of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. [1][2]

According to Deutsche Welle, countries along the African coast are particularly exposed to the military actions, with Djibouti located roughly 20 kilometers from Perim Island. The island is also positioned approximately 20 minutes by air from Ethiopia. The Houthis have continuously fired on merchant ships passing through the critical maritime corridor since the start of the broader regional conflict. [1]

The Houthis are a Zaydi Shia political and military organization that has held governance over significant portions of northern and western Yemen, including the capital city of Sanaa since 2014. Operating under the Supreme Political Council, their administration stands in opposition to the internationally recognized government of Yemen. The ongoing conflict in Yemen is widely viewed as part of the broader proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. [3]

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait serves as the primary southern ocean outlet for the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. To the north, the sea borders the Sinai Peninsula alongside the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez, which links directly to the Suez Canal. [2]