Bab el-Mandeb Strait: Yemen's war reaches the Red Sea chokepoint
The UN Security Council met on October 9, 2026 on Yemen, where a Houthi offensive launched in September has revived the 12-year war. The Houthis seized parts of the Red Sea coast near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and have claimed attacks on Saudi airports. Yemeni Government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, say they have recaptured the port city of Mocha.
Syllabus: Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; Prelims · Geography; GS2 · Foreign Policies & the Diaspora
Why it matters
A ship's captain carrying goods between India and Europe has two routes: the short one through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Suez Canal, or the long one around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. Fighting on the Yemeni shore puts the short route at risk. The risk is sharper now because Iranian attacks on ships have already cut traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving the Red Sea as a crucial alternative. Indians have felt the war in the air first: three Indian airlines suspended their Riyadh flights and the Indian Embassy there issued an advisory. The larger question is how a civil war in one country can endanger sea lanes and air routes that many countries share.
Prelims pointers
- Bab el-Mandeb Strait: joins the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden; Yemen on the Arabian shore, Djibouti and Eritrea on the African shore.
- Perim Island: a Yemeni island lying in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
- Yemen: borders Saudi Arabia (north) and Oman (east); Red Sea to the west, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea to the south; capital Sanaa; Socotra island is Yemeni.
- Red Sea: linked to the Mediterranean Sea by the Suez Canal; Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have coasts on it.
- Strait of Hormuz: joins the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, with Iran on its northern shore and Oman on its southern shore.
- UN Security Council: 15 members; China, France, Russia, the UK and the US are permanent; ten are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.
- Gulf Cooperation Council: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman; Yemen is not a member.
- Operation Rahat (2015): India's evacuation of its nationals from Yemen after the Saudi-led coalition entered the war.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, consider the following statements:
1. Oman lies on its Arabian shore, and Djibouti and Eritrea lie on its African shore.
2. It is the southern entrance to the Red Sea and opens into the Gulf of Aden.
3. Perim Island, which lies in the strait, is a part of Yemen.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
1 is incorrect: Yemen, not Oman, lies on the Arabian shore of the strait; Djibouti and Eritrea are on the African shore. 2 is correct: the strait joins the southern end of the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. 3 is correct: Perim Island in the strait belongs to Yemen.
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