Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: AQAP releases video eulogy of deceased fighter; Southern Movement members stage rallies in Hadramawt and Aden governorates; unidentified gunmen kill two al Houthis and injure another in Sana’a

Horn of Africa: unidentified assailants kill civilians outside mosque in Lower Shabelle region; Ethiopian security forces detain Ahlu Sunna wa al Jama’a officials along border in Galgudud region; Somaliland security forces seize village within disputed territory in Sool region; unidentified gunmen kill prominent elder in Gedo region

Yemen Security Brief

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a video eulogy of deceased AQAP preacher and scholar Zayed al Daghari al Awlaki, also known as Abu al Bara’a, to jihadi forums on April 18. Produced by AQAP’s media arm, al Malahem Media Foundation, the video is the fourth installment in a series titled, “He May Take Martyrs from Among You,” and contains footage from an October 2010 speech by AQAP official Ibrahim al Rubaish, in which he praises Daghari as an example of a “fighting scholar.”[1]

• Southern Movement members staged simultaneous demonstrations in the city of al Mukalla in Hadramawt governorate and the city of Aden on April 27, demanding independence and statehood for the south.[2]

• Unidentified gunmen killed two al Houthi members and injured another in Sana’a capital on April 28. Reports indicate that the gunmen specifically targeted a library owned by the al Houthis, although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Unidentified assailants killed five civilians outside a mosque in Muuri in Lower Shabelle region on April 25. Reports indicate that the assailants, dressed in military uniform, fired indiscriminately at a crowd gathered in front of the mosque. Somali National Army (SNA) officials deny SNA involvement in the incident, asserting that the attack was motivated by clan disputes. Separately, local militias clashed in Buufow in Lower Shabelle region on April 26. The motivation behind the confrontation remains unclear.[4]

• Ethiopian security forces detained at least five Ahlu Sunna wa al Jama’a officials along the Ethiopian-Somali border in Galgudud region on April 25. The detained individuals included the security chief of Guriel district, Muse Moalim, and a civil service department official, Mimin Mohamed Heefow. The Ethiopian government announced that the officials were detained due to suspected links to the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).[5]

• Somaliland security forces seized the Holhol village in Sool region on April 25. The Somaliland forces seized the village and nearby oil fields in the vicinity of the unrecognized Khatumo state, which tentatively controls territory disputed by Somaliland and Puntland. Somaliland’s activity in the territory indicates that local clan militias within the Khatumo state may be cooperating with Somaliland.[6]

• Unidentified gunmen killed prominent elder Adan Abulkadir, also known as Adan Dehre, in the Beled-Hawo district of Gedo region on April 26. Abulkadir served as a mediator between Beled-Hawo security forces and a group of youths operating in nearby Dolow town. No group claimed responsibility for the targeted killing.[7]