Gulf of Aden Security Review
A regularly updated review of both Yemen and the Horn of Africa covering topics related to security, governance, and militant activity.
Yemen: Al Houthi movement and STC respond to Hadi’s convening of Parliament; al Houthi forces raid homes of Yemeni parliamentarians; German Ambassador meets with Hadi’s Prime Minister
Horn of Africa: Sudan police deny issuing orders not to intervene in anti-regime protests; suspected al Shabaab militants detonate car bomb in Mogadishu
Yemen Security Brief
Deputy Prime Minister of the al Houthi movement Hussein al Izzi denounced President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s attempt to convene Parliament on April 10. Protestors bearing southern Yemeni flags separately demonstrated the upcoming session of Parliament in in Hadramawt governorate in eastern Yemen on April 10. Transitional Political Council for the South (STC) Vice President Hani bin Brik threatened retaliation if any forces attacked protestors in Sayun.[1]
Al Houthi forces raided the houses of several Hadi government-aligned parliamentarians in Yemen’s capital Sana’a on April 10. Al Houthi forces targeted members cooperating with Hadi government efforts to hold Parliament in Sayun. Al Houthi forces additionally raided the homes of former parliamentarians in Sana’a.[2]
German Ambassador to Yemen Carola Mueller-Holtkemper met with Hadi government Prime Minister Mu’ayyan Abdulmalik Sa’id in Aden on April 10. The German Ambassador arrived in Aden with a delegation of foreign ambassadors and reaffirmed the German government’s support for the UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement.[3]
Horn of Africa Security Brief
The Sudan police force’s press office backtracked previous claims that it would not interfere in anti-regime protests on April 9. The Sudan police force had posted support for protesters on its Facebook page earlier on April 9. The police had called for a “peaceful transfer of power” in the same post. The police claimed on their Facebook page later in the same day that their page had been hijacked. The director of police in the Sudanese capital Khartoum separately stated on April 9 that the police would not object to any peaceful protest, however.[4]
Suspected al Shabaab militants detonated a car bomb targeting a Somali police colonel in the Somali capital on April 10. The colonel survived the assassination attempt.[5]
[1] “The Houthi group comments on the Government’s intent to hold parliamentary sessions in Sayun,” Al Mashhad al Yemeni, April 10, 2019, https://www.almashhad-alyemeni.com/130304; and Hani bin Brik, Twitter, https://twitter.com/HaniBinbrek/status/1115929215881437184.
[2] “In response to the completion of efforts to host Parliament Houthi militias raid houses in Sana’a of leaders in the legitimate government,” al Masdar Online, April 10, 2019, https://almasdaronline.com/articles/166421.
[3] “Ambassadors continue to arrive in the interim capital Aden and the Prime Minister receives the German Ambassador,” Aden Gd, April 10, 2019, http://www.adengd.net/news/378904/; and “Berlin participates in the United Nations mission to support Hodeidah agreement,” el Watan News, April 10, 2019, https://www.elwatannews.com/news/details/4105300.
[4] “Sudan police denies statement calling for ‘transfer of power’,” The New Arab, April 9, 2019, https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2019/4/9/sudan-police-denies-statement-calling-for-transfer-of-power.
[5] “Somali police officer survives bomb attack in Mogadishu,” Mareeg, April 10, 2019, https://mareeg.com/somali-police-officer-survives-bomb-attack-in-mogadishu-2/.
