Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Al Houthi movement announces first engagement utilizing new missile; Hadi government accuses al Houthi movement of detaining foreign aid workers in northern Yemen

Horn of Africa: Somali special forces unit completes training at Turkish academy in Mogadishu; SFG President travels to Riyadh; Sudan’s largest protest group to announce nominees for civilian government; Ethiopian Prime Minister appoints new Defense and Foreign Ministers

Yemen Security Brief

Al Houthi Armed Forces Spokesman Yahya Sarea announced that al Houthi forces utilized the Badr-F missile in a strike against pro-Hadi forces in a military base in Dhaleh governorate on April 19. Sarea claimed that the missile strike was effective. The al Houthi movement unveiled the Badr-F missile on April 15, 2019. The al Houthi movement claims that the Badr-F has a range of 160 km over the Badr-1P’s 130 km range.^[1]

The Hadi government Minister for Internal Affairs Abd al Raqib Fatah stated that al Houthi forces detained twenty foreign relief workers of the French Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) in Bani Qais district in southwestern Hajjah governorate in northwestern Yemen on April 19. The agency is active in Hajjah and Amran governorates, according to pro-Hadi sources.^[2]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

A 330-man unit of Somali Danab special forces completed training at Turkey’s military base in the Somali capital Mogadishu on April 18. The U.S. has trained other Danab units.[3]

Somali Federal Government (SFG) President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo flew to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on April 19 for an official visit with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud. Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi separately traveled to the United Arab Emirates for an official visit on April 18.[4]

Sudan’s largest protest group stated on April 19 that it will announce nominees for a transitional civilian council on April 21. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) has rejected Sudan’s Transitional Military Council, which overthrew President Omar al Bashir on April 11. The U.S. separately dispatched an envoy to the Sudanese capital Khartoum on April 18. The U.S. has called for an inclusive transitional government.[5]

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed new Defense and Foreign Ministers on April 18. Abiy appointed the current President of Oromia region, Lemma Megersa, as Defense Minister and the former President of Amhara region, Gedu Andargachew, as Foreign Minister. Both Megersa and Andargachew have been vocal supporters of Abiy’s reform agenda and have expressed concern over increasing ethnic conflict within Ethiopia.[6]

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