The Houthis now control the Bab al-Mandab strait. But where is it and why does it matter? Patrick Wintour explains
Remember that time a few years ago when few of us spared a thought for commercial shipping routes and strategic waterways? How times have changed. Now, you’d be forgiven for a sense of deja vu over the past few weeks as another strait has hit the headlines: the Bab al-Mandab strait in Yemen.
Last week, this narrow 50km stretch of water on Yemen’s south-western coast came under the control of Iran-backed Houthi forces. And according to Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, this is a big deal. “It’s the entrance between the Red Sea and Asia, in effect. So on one side of the waterway is Yemen and Saudi Arabia and on the other side are places such as Djibouti. So it is probably the second most important waterway for commercial shipping in the world.”
