Middle East & Africa | Piracy and peace

Attacks on shipping threaten to upend peace talks in Yemen 

The Saudis want to end their war with the Houthis, even as America may fight them

Yemen's Houthi Armed Parade To Fight Israel
Image: Getty Images
|DUBAI AND JERUSALEM

NOT LONG ago the Saudis might have welcomed a Western show of force against the Houthis, a Shia rebel group that has fought against a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen since 2015. Yet today, as America forms its own coalition to stop Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, it is the Saudis urging caution: they fear efforts to escape their war in Yemen could be spoilt.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “War and peace in the Red Sea”

From the December 23rd 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Middle East & Africa

Bottles of Pedro's premium Ogogoro

West African booze is becoming a luxury product

Female entrepreneurs are leading the charge

A Palestinian inspects the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Al-Maghazi in Gaza

First, the ceasefire. Next the Trump effect could upend the Middle East

Will Israel and Donald Trump use the threat of annexation to secure a new grand bargain?


Palestinians celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel

After 15 months of hell, Israel and Hamas sign a ceasefire deal

Donald Trump provided the X factor by putting heat on Binyamin Netanyahu, who insists the war isn’t over yet


A hidden refuge in Sudan that the internet, banks—and war—can’t reach

A visit to the Nuba mountains provides a glimpse into the future of the country

Violent jihadists are getting frustrated by the new Syria

Tipsy dancers, Christmas decorations, Shias and women’s rights are in the crosshairs

America concludes genocide has been committed in Sudan—again

The move highlights the magnitude of Sudan’s civil war but does little to end it