President el-Sisi sought authorization to defend Saudi Arabia — The Rio Times
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on October 17 asked parliament to authorize military support for Saudi Arabia should it request assistance in its confrontation with the Yemeni Houthis. The parliamentary vote was postponed until the conclusion of sessions on October 19 and 20, The Rio Times reports.
According to the publication, Egypt’s National Defense Council had previously approved providing Saudi Arabia with “all necessary and available forms of support.” An unnamed source in the Egyptian government told Mada Masr that Cairo intends to send defensive forces to the kingdom and naval forces to the Red Sea. The format of possible support has not yet been discussed.
Shipping through the strait
The events are unfolding near Djibouti, a state on the Red Sea coast whose ports serve Ethiopia. Djibouti is located near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern entrance to the Suez Canal. According to the IMF’s PortWatch platform, an average of 28 vessels per day passed through the strait from October 5 to 11. During the same period in 2023, the figure was 78 vessels, and in 2025 it was 34.
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The World Bank forecasts that Djibouti’s economic growth will slow to 5.9% in 2026 after an expected 6.5% in 2025. The bank links this to regional tensions and disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, which are putting pressure on the trade corridor between Djibouti and Ethiopia.
Tensions west of Djibouti
Tensions persist in Ethiopia, west of Djibouti. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front seized the regional administrative center of Mekelle on September 23, federal forces entered the city on October 3, and authorities in Addis Ababa appointed an interim administration there on October 16. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on October 17 that the buildup of troops on both sides of the Ethiopia-Eritrea border could escalate into a broader conflict.
Djibouti’s Interior Minister Omar Abdi Said told the executive committee of the UN refugee agency that more than 4,000 refugees from Yemen had arrived in the country since September 10. More than 9,200 people are in the Markazi camp near the northern port of Obock. Djibouti also hosts the U.S. Camp Lemonnier base, which supports about 4,000 U.S., allied military personnel and civilian employees.
