Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Bab el-Mandeb Strait Latest News

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait has returned to the geopolitical spotlight after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia. 

About Bab el-Mandeb Strait

• It is also known as the “Gate of Tears” in Arabic, referring to the large number of shipwrecks that have occurred in this region. 
• Location: It lies at the southern tip of the Red Sea, between Yemen and the Horn of Africa. It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and further to the Indian Ocean.
• It also separates Arabia, in the northeast, from the African continent, in the southwest.
• It further acts as a link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.
• The strait is 30 kilometers (KM) wide and is divided into two channels by the Yemeni island of Perim, with the eastern channel being called Alexander’s Strait, while the western-lying Dact-el-Mayun Channel.
• Significance: It is a crucial link in the trade route connecting the Mediterranean to Asia. 
  • Ships transporting goods between Europe and Asia, as well as Middle Eastern oil bound for Europe and North America, pass through it when using Egypt’s Suez Canal.

Source: TH

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