Attacks on commercial ships near the Middle Eastern country of Yemen have forced huge freight companies to change or pause their movements on one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
Who is launching these attacks, what is their end goal and what are the potential repercussions?
Here’s a primer.
What’s been happening?
In recent weeks, a Yemeni rebel group, the Houthis, have been targeting vessels on the southern Red Sea and in a narrow corridor between Yemen and Africa called the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The group has fired multiple projectiles from Houthi-controlled territory at ships. The U.S. and France say they have also shot down multiple drones launched from Houthi territory. And in one
