Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Saudi Arabia announces execution of Yemeni citizen responsible for last year’s concert stabbing in Riyadh; al Houthis accuse Saudi-led coalition forces of launching airstrikes on several northern governorates; al Houthis announce they will prevent international organizations from moving between al Houthi-controlled governorates to prevent coronavirus spread

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab kills doctor in Mogadishu; Kenyan media report accuses NISA of colluding with al Shabaab

Yemen Security Brief:

The Saudi Interior Ministry announced on April 16 the execution of a Yemeni national convicted for stabbing performers at a concert in Saudi capital Riyadh in November 2019. A Saudi court alleged that the perpetrator, Emad al Mansouri, had ties to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The court also sentenced an unidentified man to 12 and a half years in prison for collaborating with Mansouri and for funding AQAP. AQAP has not claimed responsibility for the attack.^[1]

Al Houthi militants accused Saudi-led coalition forces of launching airstrikes on Majzar and Madghal districts in Ma’rib governorate and on al Hazm and Khub wa al Shaf districts in al Jawf governorate in northern Yemen. Al Houthi militants accused Saud-led coalition forces of conducting airstrikes on several northern Yemeni governorates, including Ma’rib and al Jawf on April 14.^[2]

The al Houthi movement announced that it will prevent international organizations in Yemen from moving between al Houthi-controlled governorates to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Al Houthi militants accused the representative of the UN Development Program in Yemen of covering up three suspected coronavirus cases in UN offices in Sana’a governorate. Yemen reported its first coronavirus case on April 10.^[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief:

Al Shabaab militants assassinated a doctor in Ceelasha Biyaha on the outskirts of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on April 16. Al Shabaab claimed the doctor was an informant for Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA). Unidentified militants killed a Somali pediatrician in Mogadishu’s Yaqshid district on April 8.^[4]

Kenyan local media reported on April 17 that NISA officials are coordinating and funding al Shabaab attacks targeting Kenyan African Union forces in southwestern Somalia. The report included an alleged picture of a $1.5 million check sent from a NISA officer to an al Shabaab militant. Regional experts stated that the check was forged and pointed to the report’s timeline inconsistencies. NISA accused a prominent Somali journalist of having contact with al Shabaab in early April.^[5]