How the Houthi conflict is affecting countries along Africa's Red Sea coast — and beyond

In September, the conflict in the Middle East came within sight of Africa, as Iran-backed Houthi rebels captured Yemen's Perim Island. The island forms the narrowest point of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait which connects the southern entrance of the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It is roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Djibouti and 20-minutes by air to Ethiopia.

In early October, Yemen's Armed Forces and their Saudi allies launched a counteroffensive. TheIran-backed Houthis have been firing on merchant ships since the start of the Gaza war in 2023. African economies are already suffering from crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, which is making fuel and fertilizer in particular scarce and more expensive.

If the Bab el-Mandeb Strait also becomes impassable, the situation could deteriorate. Shipping companies would have to make detours via the Suez Canal, controlled by Egypt or the southern tip of Africa, as some already do. The additional costs would be pass on to consumers.

The human cost of the escalation in Yemen hit Djibouti almost immediately. According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), at least 3,700 refugees have crossed from Yemen into Djibouti since September 10. Most of those who made it to the Obock region are women, children, and older people.

UNHCR is preparing to assist another 10,000 people who have not yet crossed into Djibouti. Obock, on the border with Eritrea, is extremely dry. "We don't have much water here; there's no groundwater at all," Alessandra Roccasalvo, the UN Development Program (UNDP) representative for Djibouti, told DW.

"Everything has to be desalinated." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Despite its size, Djibouti — a Muslim-majority Horn of Africa country of just over a million people — is a major player in the region. Its position at at the entrance to the Red Sea makes it an attractive commercial and military shipping hub. The United States, China, France, Italy, and Japan operate military bases in Djibouti.