Global Threat Escalates as Houthi Smuggling and Training Networks Expand Into Africa

For more than a decade, the Houthis have inflicted immense suffering on Yemen and sown instability across the Middle East. Since taking control of the country’s north in 2014, the Iranian-backed rebels have deprived large segments of the population of basic services, launched projectiles into neighbouring countries, and turned the Bab Al Mandeb strait into one of the world’s most dangerous shipping lanes.

Now, a report from the Century Foundation, a US-based non-partisan think tank, details how the group’s ambitions have extended far beyond the region’s shores, a development that should concentrate minds in western, Middle Eastern, and African capitals. The report outlines how the Houthis have built smuggling and training networks stretching across the Red Sea into the Horn of Africa and Sudan, while deepening ties with Al Shabab in Somalia and the Sudanese Armed Forces. These transactional connections threaten to become permanent, potentially providing Al Shabab with advanced anti-aircraft weapons and drones.

The Houthis' relationship with the SAF is even more advanced, involving small arms shipments and joint training with Iranian support. Furthermore, Houthi activity in Eritrea points to efforts to establish a logistical corridor linking the conflicts in Sudan, Somalia, and the Red Sea shipping crisis. The international community must exert coordinated pressure to disrupt these smuggling routes and isolate the group's external patrons before the consequences become irreversible.