Turkey-Israel Tension in Horn of Africa and Beyond

 The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies published on 6 January 2026 an analysis titled "From Syria to Somaliland: Turkey-Israel Competition Reshapes Region" by Burcu Ozcelik.

Turkey has a strong relationship with Somalia, increasing interests in the region, and opposes Israel's recent recognition of breakaway Somaliland.  This development adds to tension between Turkey and Israel in the Horn of Africa.  Turkish and Israeli interests also diverge sharply in Syria, Gaza, Cyprus, and Greece.

Houthi Red Sea Attacks; US Considers Cease Fire Still in Effect

 The Wall Street Journal published on 10 July 2025 an article titled "Two Ships Desperately Tried to Fight Off Houthi Attacks. Help Never Arrived" by Benoit Faucon and Lara Seligman.  

The article includes dramatic video coverage of two Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned ships that Houthi rebels sank this week in the Red Sea.  These attacks came two months after the United States announced a ceasefire with the Houthis following airstrikes on their positions in Yemen. 

A senior US Defense Department official said Washington still considers the ceasefire to be in place so long as the Houthis are not firing at American ships.  

Houthi Attack Sinks Ship in Red Sea

 CNN posted on 10 July 2025 an article titled "10 Rescued, 4 Killed and Others 'Kidnapped' after Houthis Sink Ship in Second Red Sea Attack in a Week" by Mostafa Salam.

The Houthi attack on the Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned Eternity C resulted in the death of 4 out of the 25 crew.  European Union personnel rescued 10 while the Houthis apparently kidnapped others.  The article includes a dramatic one-minute video of the ship sinking provided by the Houthi Media Center.

Yemen's Houthis Attack Second Ship in the Red Sea

 The New York Times posted on 8 July 2025 an article titled "Attack on Cargo Ship in the Red Sea Kills 2 Crew Members" by Vivian Nereim and Nick Cumming-Bruce.  

Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked a second Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned ship this week in the Red Sea.  On this occasion, they killed 2 crew members and injured 2 others.  

Yemen's Houthis Renew Attacks on Red Sea Shipping

 The Wall Street Journal published on 7 July 2025 an article titled "Houthis Attack Ship in Red Sea for First Time Since Trump Announced a Truce" by Dov Lieber and Benoit Faucon.  

A Houthi attack disabled a Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned ship near the port of Hodeidah in the Red Sea.  This was the first Houthi attack since President Trump halted airstrikes on the Houthis in May.  Recent Israeli airstrikes on the Houthis may have precipitated the new attacks on international shipping.  

Efforts to Prevent Oil Spill Disaster in Red Sea

 The Royal United Services Institute published on 1 October 2024 an analysis titled "Sounion Attack Brings Red Sea Shipping Crisis Back to the Fore" by Stavros Karamperidis.

The Houthi attack in the Red Sea on a Greek-flagged oil tanker, the Sounion, with 922,000 barrels of Iraqi crude has revived concerns about an environmental disaster.  The Sounion, which is still on fire, has been towed to the Eritrean coast where efforts are underway to extinguish the fires.  The Houthis agreed to the salvage operation once they realized the damage the Sounion could do to Yemen's coast.  

qCaptain published on 2 October 2024 an article titled "M/T Sounion Continues to Burn as Houthi Attacks Resume in Red Sea" by Mike Schuler.

This article provides an updated account of the Sounion salvage operation and a Houthi attack on another oil tanker.  

Yemen's Houthi Rebels Target Greek Ships

 Reuters published on 3 October 2024 an article titled "Houthis' Email Alert to Red Sea Ships: Prepare for Attack, with Best Regards" by Renee Maltezou and Jonathan Saul. 

Yemen's Houthi rebels sent on 2 October to at least six Greek shipping companies an email warning that their ships travelling through the Red Sea are at risk of attack, as if they did not already know that.  The Houthis have conducted about 100 attacks on ships in the Red Sea, sunk two, and seized another.  Almost 30 percent of the attacks have been against Greek ships.  The Houthis claim they are only attacking ships with ties to Israel, the United States, and United Kingdom, although this is clearly not the case.  

The Associated Press published on 1 October 2024 an article titled "Yemen's Houthi Rebels Launch Drone Boat that Hits Ship in Red Sea as Missile Strikes Another" by Jon Gambrell.

The Houthis attacked and hit with a drone boat on 1 October a Panamanian-flagged vessel in the Red Sea and fired a missile at a Liberian-flagged ship.

Do Yemen's Houthis Really Want a Major Oil Spill on Their Coast?

 The Associated Press published on 30 August 2024 an article titled "Houthi Video Shows the Yemeni Rebels Planted Bombs on Tanker Now Threatening Red Sea Oil Spill" by Jon Gambrell.

Yemen's Houth rebels boarded and placed bombs on a Greek-flagged oil tanker they had previously attacked and disabled in the Red Sea.  The Houthis are now able to sink the ship, releasing its million barrels of oil and causing an environmental catastrophe in sensitive waters.  The question is why they would want to endanger their own shoreline.

Houthis Set Greek Tanker Ablaze in Red Sea

 The Associated Press published on 26 August 2024 an article titled "Greek-flagged Tanker Is Burning after Houthi Attacks, But No Sign of Oil Spill" by Jon Gambrell.

The Houthis attacked and set ablaze a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea.  It poses an environmental danger as the Houthis appear determined to sink the ship.  A French destroyer attached to the EU's Operation Aspides rescued the 25 Filipino and Russian crew members.

Houthi Video on Sinking of the MV Tutor in the Red Sea

 Marine Insight posted on 22 June 2024 an article and video titled "Houthis Release Video Footage of Blowing Up MV Tutor Ship in Red Sea."

The Houthis released a video showing two bomb-carrying drone boats hitting the MV Tutor from its side and stern.  Container shipping through the Red Sea has declined by 90 percent since the beginning of the Houthi drone and missile attacks.  

Houthi-hit Ship Sinks in Red Sea

 qCaptain posted on 19 June 2024 an article titled "Shipping Industry Calls for Action after Tutor Sinking in Red Sea" by Mike Schuler.

The Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned coal carrier, M/V Tutor, discussed on 16 June below has now sunk in the Red Sea.  The Houthis also severely damaged the Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, and Polish-operated M/V Verbena.

Shipping industry groups issued a joint statement calling on "states with influence in the region" to safeguard seafarers and de-escalate the situation.  

Houthis Attack Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned, and Philippine-crewed Ship in Red Sea

 Military Times published on 16 June 2024 an article titled "Navy Rescues Crew from Merchant Vessel Struck by Houthis in Red Sea" by Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press, and Beth Sullivan.

A Houthi uncrewed surface vessel on 12 June struck a Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned bulk cargo ship, the M/V Tutor, in the Red Sea, causing severe flooding and damage to the engine room.  Most of the crew is from the Philippines and the Tutor most recently docked in Russia.  The British military reported the vessel is on fire and sinking.  

A helicopter from the USS Philippine Sea, which is attached to the Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group, airlifted 24 mariners from the Tutor to the Philippine Sea and then the Eisenhower before being taken to shore.   

Houthi Attack Disables Ship in Red Sea That Restores Power

The Associated Press published on 18 May 2024 an article titled "Yemen's Houthi Rebels Launch a Missile that Strikes an Oil Tanker in the Red Sea, US Military Says" by Jon Gambrell. 

Houthi rebels launched a ballistic missile that hit a Panama-flagged, Greek owned oil tanker in the Red Sea.  It may have been carrying oil from Russia to China.  The ship lost propulsion and steering although the crew was able to restore power and resume course.  

China Tries to Dominate Port Construction in Eastern Mediterranean

 The Middle East Institute published on 18 August 2021 an analysis titled "The Race to Reset the Middle East's Maritime Map" by Michael Tanchum.

China's actual port development in Egypt and efforts to expand its port construction contracts in Israel and Lebanon underscore its goal to strengthen trade and political ties in the eastern Mediterranean.  

Turkey Reaches Out to African Maghreb

The South African Institute of International Affairs published on 3 February 2020 an analysis titled "Turkey and the Shifting Geopolitical Sands of North and East Africa" by Elias Eliades.

As Turkey gets increasingly mired in Syria it is expanding its influence in the African Maghreb. It signed two agreements with the Libyan government in Tripoli and President Erdogan made visits this year to Tunisia and Algeria.

Chinese Companies Export Timber Illegally from Gabon and Congo; US and Europe Buy Finished Product

The Environmental Investigation Agency published on 25 March 2019 a report titled "Toxic Trade: Forest Crime in Gabon and the Republic of Congo and Contamination of the US Market."

The Dejia Group, affiliated companies controlled by the Chinese mogul Xu Gong De, harvest, process, and export mostly to China illegally-sourced okoume trees from the tropical forests of Gabon and the Republic of Congo. The US importer Evergreen Hardwoods purchases veneer produced from these trees that makes its way to the American consumer. The Dejia Group has also placed hundreds of thousands of tons of timber products in European countries such as France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Greece.

Piracy and the Story of the Brillante Virtuoso

Bloomberg Businessweek published on 31 July 2017 a fascinating story titled "The Hijacking of the Brillante Virtuoso" by Kit Chellel and Matthew Campbell.

This is a detailed account of a Greek-owned oil tanker that in July 2011 experienced either a botched hijacking or failed effort to scuttle the ship as part of an insurance scam in the Gulf of Aden at the height of Somali piracy. The ship and its oil cargo, valued at $100 million, was only briefly seized by intruders when an explosion and fire broke out that subsequently sent it to the salvage yard. What actually happened to the ship remains a mystery and insurance claims continue. It may be a case where a suspected Somali piracy attempt was actually something else.

Somali Pirates Back in Business

The Associated Press published on 14 March 2017 an article titled "Pirates Hijack Freighter off Somalia's Coast, Officials Say" by Abdi Guled and Jon Gambrel.

Somali pirates succeeded in capturing their first large commercial vessel since the last successful hijacking in 2012. The ship was carrying fuel from Djibouti to Mogadishu. It had 8 Sri Lankan crew members who are now being held for ransom off the coast of Puntland. It was flying the flag of Sri Lanka, Liberia, or the Comoro Islands. The owners are connected to Greece or the UAE. The big question is whether this incident portends the return of pirate attacks off Somalia after a lapse of several years.

China's Mediterranean Odyssey

The Diplomat published on 19 April 2016 a commentary titled "China's Mediterranean Odyssey" by Elodie Sellier. The focus of the article is the purchase by China Ocean Shipping Company of the Greek port of Piraeus. The deal has implications for the Maritime Silk Road initiative, the Suez Canal, and North Africa.

Ethiopia's Foreign Relations

Lit Verlag in Germany published in 2015 a book edited by Lukian Prijac titled "Les relations entre l'Ethiopie et les nations etrangeres" or "Foreign Relations with Ethiopia."  The chapters, which are written by a variety of authors, are in French or English.  I wrote the chapters on the United States and China, both in English.

Other relations covered include Armenia, Austria, Israel, Japan, Vatican, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Ottoman Empire, Hungary, and Russia.