Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi fires the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council; a U.S. drone strike kills four suspected AQAP operatives in eastern Yemen; Yemeni police forces arrest three AQAP operatives in al Hudaydah airport in western Yemen; Army General Ali Saeed Obaid reports that 97 Yemeni soldiers have been accused of attacking ministry buildings; Interior Minister Major General Abdul Qadir Qahtan reports that the soldiers responsible for the attempted assassination of Yemeni presidential advisor have been apprehended

Horn of Africa: AMISOM troops kill 16 al Shabaab militants near Kismayu; U.S. representative of Somalia congratulates Somali Federal Parliament; Kenyan PM Raila Odinga accuses Kenya’s enemies of assassinating radical Muslim cleric Aboud Rago Mohammad; grenade attack injures four Kenyan police officers in Mombasa

Yemen Security Brief

• Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi fired the Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council Esam al Samawi August 29. Ali Nasser Salem has been appointed as the new chairman. President Hadi also appointed Ali Mujawar as Yemeni ambassador to the European headquarters of the United Nations.[1]

• A U.S. drone strike killed at least four suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives August 29 in eastern Yemen. The drone strike took place in the al Qatan district of the Hadramawt governorate. Residents from the region reported seeing three missiles fired at the suspects’ vehicle.[2]

• Yemeni police forces arrested three suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operatives at an airport in the western Yemeni port city of al Hudaydah August 29. One of the suspected operatives was a Syrian national according to intelligence officials. The suspected operatives were attempting to board a flight traveling to the Yemeni capital city Sana’a.[3]

• Yemeni Army General Ali Saeed Obaid reported August 29 that 97 soldiers have been accused of attacking ministry buildings, 62 of which have already been referred to military courts. General Obaid also stated that further action will be taken to locate soldiers setting up illegal checkpoints in Sana’a.[4]

• Yemeni Minister of the Interior Major General Abdul Qadir Qahtan reported August 30 that the soldiers responsible for the August 27 assassination attempt of presidential advisor Yassin Saeed Noman have been apprehended. The soldiers are now in the custody of central intelligence officials in Sana’a for further questioning and prosecution.[5]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• AMISOM forces killed 16 al Shabaab militants and wounded 30 others August 29 during clashes in Afmadow, a district near the Somali port city of Kismayo. Al Shabaab reportedly killed four AMISOM troops August 29 during an ambush in Ago-Libah, an outskirt region of Afmadow. AMISOM and Somali troops are attempting to recapture Somali port city Kismayo, a key safe haven for al Shabaab militants.[6]

• The U.S. Special Representative for Somalia, Ambassador James C. Swan, congratulated August 29 the new Somali Federal Parliament for successfully electing Mohammad Osman Jawaari as their new speaker.[7]

• Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga accused Kenya’s enemies August 30 of assassinating radical Muslim cleric Aboud Rogo Mohammad. According to PM Raila Odinga, Kenya’s enemies are attempting to create a religious war between Christians and Muslims in Kenyan.[8]

• Mombasa police chief Aggrey Adoli reported August 30 that four Kenyan police officers were seriously injured from a grenade attack while on patrol near the Mombasa Pentecostal Church. This is the second grenade attack on Kenyan police forces in the last three days in Mombasa.[9]