Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Al Houthis claim sending “vision” proposal to UN to end Yemen’s war; Hadi government forces claim recapturing military camp on Socotra island; al Houthis sentence four journalists to death in Sana’a for treason and espionage; al Houthis claim repelling Hadi government forces in al Bayda governorate; Saudi-led coalition forces claim intercepting al Houthi missile in Ma’rib governorate

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab clashes with Kenyan National Police Reservists in eastern Kenya; al Shabaab assassinates Puntland State civil servant in central Somalia; Interpol pulls officers out of operational stations in East Africa over coronavirus

Yemen Security Brief:

The al Houthi movement claimed sending a proposal on April 8 to UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths detailing its “vision” for ending Yemen’s ongoing war. The al Houthi movement’s demands included a full withdrawal of Saudi-led coalition forces from Yemen and an end to the air, land, and sea embargo imposed by Saudi-led coalition forces. The al Houthi movement promised to withdraw its militants from Saudi territories in return. Saudi-led coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al Maliki announced a unilateral two-week cease-fire in Yemen beginning April 9, intended to support UN peace efforts in Yemen and prevent the spread of coronavirus.^[1]

Forces aligned with the internationally recognized Yemeni government of Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi claimed recapturing a military camp on Socotra island off Yemen’s southern coast on April 11. The United Arab Emirates-backed Transitional Political Council of the South forces reportedly seized the military camp in mid-February.^[2]

The al Houthi movement sentenced four journalists to death in al Houthi-held Yemeni capital Sana’a on April 11. Al Houthi militants charged the journalists with treason and espionage, according to an al Houthi judicial official. The al Houthi movement detained the four journalists with ten others, accusing them of working with Saudi-led coalition forces. The al Houthi movement sentenced 35 Yemeni members of Parliament to death for supporting Hadi’s government in early March.[3]

Saudi-led coalition forces claimed intercepting an al Houthi missile fired toward Ma’rib governorate in northern Yemen on April 12. Al Houthi militants launched a missile near a tribal sheikh’s house in al Wadi district in Ma’rib governorate on April 11.^[4] 

Al Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed that al Houthi militants repelled Hadi government forces on Nata front in al Bayda governorate in southern Yemen on April 13. Sarea also accused the Saudi-led coalition forces of launching 15 airstrikes in several governorates, including Ma’rib, al Jawf, and al Bayda on the same day.^[5]

Horn of Africa Security Brief:

Al Shabaab militants and the Kenyan National Police Reserve clashed near Ausmudule in eastern Kenya’s Wajir County on April 13. The skirmish killed four al Shabaab militants and injured two reservist officers, according to local media. Local residents reported an al Shabaab cell in Wajir County in early February.^[6]

Multiple al Shabaab militants assassinated a Puntland State immigration officer outside a mosque in Galkayo in central Somalia’s Mudug region on April 10. Al Shabaab militants assassinated a Puntland State city councilor in Galkayo in late March.^[7]

International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) officials announced on April 7 that they directed their officers to leave monitoring stations in East Africa and provide remote support instead due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Interpol had been attempting to build an intelligence sharing system between Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Uganda to disrupt regional militants and criminals.[8]