Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Yemen security forces report that they have killed thirty-four al Qaeda militants; President Saleh ordered compensation for 17-year-old land seizures in south; number of H1N1 infections still on the rise; President Saleh outlines vision for national dialogue to Shura Council

Horn of Africa: Puntland elders condemn beheadings of two southerners; al Shabaab bans work of UN Mine Action Program; AU peacekeepers reportedly arrest two government officials for supplying arms to Islamists

Yemen Security Review

• Yemen security forces have reportedly struck al Qaeda hideouts and training sites, killing thirty-four militants.  Authorities say the assault, which used warplanes and ground forces, attacked a training camp in Mahsad in the Abyan province.  In the Arhab district – located northeast of Sana’a –government forces killed four would-be suicide bombers and arrested seventeen militants in Arhab district.[1]

• President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered that three-hundred people in Hiswa in Aden be compensated for the government confiscation of their land.  This has been an issue for seventeen years now.[2]

• The number of reported cases of H1N1 infections continues to rise quickly, despite efforts to control the outbreak.  As of this past Tuesday, the number of known cases stood at 5,039 infections.  In addition, over seven-hundred cases of Dengue fever have been found in Taiz province.[3]

• In a message to the Chairman of the Shura Council, Abdul Aziz Abdulghani, President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced that his call for a national dialogue reiterated several previous appeals for a broad discussion of national issues.  He also outlined the format and schedule of the dialogue.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Review

• Elders in Puntland have condemned the beheadings of two southern Somali men in Galkayo.  Authorities report that two beheaded men were brought to the main hospital of Galkayo.  Their deaths have been attributed to xenophobia in Puntland, which has been fueled by recent attacks committed by southerners.  Demonstrations against the violence took place in Galkayo and Bossaso on Tuesday.[5]

• Al Shabaab issued a statement ordering the suspension of the UN Mine Action Program in Somalia, accusing the program of carrying out actions to mobilize opposition to al Shabaab.  The group added that the program was paying the salaries of government police forces whom al Shabaab is currently fighting in Mogadishu.  Al Shabaab has already imposed regulations on humanitarian organizations in the Bay and Bakool region.  The regulations include bans on democracy promotion, female workers, taking Sundays off, and logos on vehicles.[6]

• Reportedly, African Union peacekeepers have arrested two government officials on charges of selling weapons to Islamist militants.  Sources say that one was the base commander for government soldiers in Afgoi.[7]