Red Sea & Bab-el-Mandeb

Houthi attacks on tankers passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb has disrupted one of the busiest global shipping lanes, dragging the U.S. deeper into the conflict.

Red Sea – A narrow strip of water extending for about 1,200 miles.
Geography – It extends between the Mediterranean Sea, to the north-west, and the Indian Ocean, to the south-east.
- In north, it separates into the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez and in south, it is connected to the Gulf of Aden, and the outer Indian Ocean, via the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb.
6 bordering countries – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti.
Physiography – It lies in a fault depression that separates 2 great blocks, Arabia and North Africa and its height can reach more than 6,560 feet above sea level, with the highest in the south.
Higher salinity – It has high evaporation, low precipitation and has no major freshwater inflow.
Resources – It is high in nutrient, planktons and also has 5 major types of mineral resources (petroleum deposits, evaporite deposits, sulfur, phosphates, and the heavy-metal deposits).
Sea Route – It is a part of an important trade route connecting Europe to Asia (through Suez Canal).

Bab-el-Mandeb

It is a strait that separates the Arabian Peninsula from East Africa and is just 29-km wide at its narrowest point.
It is a strategically important strait.
Control – Throughout 19th and until mid-20th century, Britain protected it through the island of Perim (Mayyum) in the Strait but in 1990, it came under the control of Sana’a, the capital of the united country of Yemen.
As Houthis captured Sana’a in 2015, they pose a greater threat due to their close proximity to Bab el-Mandeb strait.

It is also know by the names Gateway of Tears and Gatway of Grief.

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