Somalia has formally joined a Saudi-engineered coalition designed to protect the Red Sea’s arteries of global trade from Houthi attacks, aligning itself with a bloc of nations racing to contain an escalation between Yemen’s Iran-backed movement and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The announcement comes just weeks after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud cautioned the breakaway northern region of Somaliland against entangling itself in the widening Houthi-Israel confrontation, warning that any such move would carry dire consequences for both the region and Somalia at large.
A Coalition Takes Shape in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that it had convened chiefs of staff and senior military representatives from 43 countries to advance the Kingdom’s initiative to stand up a multinational defensive maritime coalition against the Houthis.
The gathering drew participation from 43 countries out of 51 formally invited, alongside a delegation representing the European Union. Saudi officials described the turnout as evidence of “growing international interest in enhancing defensive maritime cooperation.”
The coalition’s stated objective is to build an “effective institutional framework” capable of confronting shared maritime threats across three of the world’s most strategically sensitive waterways: the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.
Somalia Among 14 Founding Signatories
In a significant outcome of the Riyadh meeting, 14 countries issued a joint statement declaring their backing for the coalition. Somalia stands among them, alongside Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, and Djibouti.
Somalia’s inclusion places it in company with fellow Red Sea and Horn of Africa littoral states Djibouti and Sudan, reinforcing reporting that Red Sea littoral states central to the effort, including Egypt and Sudan, had agreed to take part.
The Trigger: A Houthi Blockade
The Riyadh coalition did not emerge in a vacuum. On July 20, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group announced what it described as a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea and has since claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on Saudi-linked vessels. At least one Saudi-owned tanker has been struck, pushing other vessels to either turn back or reroute through the costlier, longer Suez Canal passage.
The disruption has rattled energy markets: Brent crude has surged past $100 a barrel for the first time since May, underscoring the strain the standoff is placing on global oil trade.
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed amid the wider Iran conflict, Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea terminal at Yanbu has emerged as a critical artery for the country’s oil exports, leaving Riyadh with little room to tolerate a prolonged Houthi campaign along its western coastline.
Somaliland’s Israel Gambit and Mohamud’s Warning
Somalia’s move to formally back the Saudi-led bloc cannot be separated from the diplomatic storm brewing to its north. Weeks earlier, President Mohamud had directly cautioned Somaliland’s administration against courting the Houthi-Israel conflict, arguing that the breakaway territory’s overtures toward Israel risked importing a war that neither Somaliland nor Somalia proper could contain.
Mohamud has repeatedly framed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, and any accompanying military foothold along the Gulf of Aden, as an existential threat to Somali sovereignty. He has warned that if Israel turns Somaliland into a proxy platform to strike at others’ interests, those adversaries would retaliate against Somaliland and Somalia alike.
Why the Bab el-Mandeb Matters
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait, connecting the southern Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, ranks among the world’s most consequential corridors for global trade and energy shipments. Houthi attacks on shipping through the strait first erupted in 2023, framed by the group as an act of solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.
The waterway’s importance has only grown since, serving as a critical alternative export route as the Strait of Hormuz came under threat amid the broader Iran conflict. For Saudi Arabia, the calculus is now existential rather than merely commercial.
What Comes Next
Military planners from Somalia and the other 13 signatory nations are expected to spend the coming weeks finalizing the charter, settling command structures, and building the technical apparatus needed before the alliance can formally launch and begin operations in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and Gulf of Aden.
Whether that framework can translate into a credible deterrent against the Houthi movement will determine whether Somalia’s bet on Riyadh proves to be a strategic masterstroke or merely a diplomatic gesture.
The Bottom Line
Somalia has joined a Saudi-led coalition of 14 nations to counter Houthi threats in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The coalition was formed after the Houthis imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and attacked Saudi-linked vessels. The move comes as President Mohamud has warned Somaliland against engaging with Israel. The coalition aims to protect global shipping lanes and Saudi Arabia’s critical oil export route at Yanbu.
