Gulf of Aden Security Review
A regularly updated review of both Yemen and the Horn of Africa covering topics related to security, governance, and militant activity.
Yemen: Omani delegation visits Sana’a to discuss peace process; top Houthi official threatens Saudi Aramco; AQAP targets STC-backed forces with IED
Somalia: SNA captures al Shabaab commanders in south-central Somalia; al Shabaab ambushes police in northeastern Kenya; first Eritrean-trained Somali soldiers return to Mogadishu
Yemen Security Brief:
A “senior Omani delegation” arrived in Sana’a, Yemen on December 21 to communicate the “ideas and proposals” from Saudi Arabia and the international community to the Houthi leadership.[i] Chief Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdul Salam accompanied the Omani delegation.
Key Houthi official Mohammed Ali al Houthi threatened Saudi Aramco on December 20.[ii] Houthi said that it may take Aramco “consecutive days to extinguish its fires” if the Houthis began a “new reaction.”
Likely al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) fighters detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) targeting Southern Transitional Council (STC)-backed forces in Wadi al Khayala, Abyan governorate, southern Yemen on December 21.[iii] The IED killed three fighters and wounded three more.
Somalia Security Brief:
The Somali National Army announced they captured eight al Shabaab fighters in recent fighting near Adan Yabal district, Middle Shabelle region, south-central Somalia, on December 20.[iv] Somali officials claimed four of the prisoners were high-ranking al Shabaab commanders.
Al Shabaab ambushed a Kenyan police vehicle in Garissa County, northeastern Kenya, on December 21.[v] Al Shabaab militants reportedly fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the vehicle after it struck a roadside improvised explosive device. The attack killed at least two police officers and one civilian.
The first batch of Eritrean-trained Somali troops arrived in Mogadishu, Somalia, on December 21.[vi] The troops had been held in Eritrea under controversial circumstances since 2018. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud announced that troops would be back in Somalia by January 2023.[vii]
[i] 26 September News Houthi, “The Head of the National Delegation Reveals the Goals of the Omani Delegation’s Visit,” December 21, 2022, https://26sep.net/index.php/local/49288-2022-12-21-12-59-04.
[ii] 26 September News Houthi, ”Mohammed Ali al Houthi: The Next One will be More Severe and More Painful for the Aggression and its Mercenaries,” December 20, 2022, https://26sep.net/index.php/local/49220-2022-12-20-05-58-26.
[iii] SMA News, ”3 Soldiers from the Southern Forces were Killed in a Terrorist Bombing in Abyan,” December 21, 2022, https://smanews.org/%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ac%d9%86%d9%88%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b1%d8%a8%d9%8a/314062/.
[iv] Halbeeg, “Top al-Shabaab commander defects to Somali govt,” December 20, 2022, https://en.halbeeg.com/2022/12/20/top-al-shabaab-commander-defects-to-somali-govt/.
[v] Washington Post, “Suspected extremists attack police in northern Kenya; 3 dead,” December 21, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/suspected-extremists-attack-police-in-northern-kenya-3-dead/2022/12/21/30f2a65a-811b-11ed-8738-ed7217de2775_story.html.
[vi] VOA Somali, “The first part of the army has returned from Eritrea,” December 21, 2022, https://www.voasomali.com/a/qeybtii-ugu-horreysay-ee-ciidankii-jiray-eritrea-oo-lasoo-celiyay/6885381.html.
[vii] Radio Dalsan, “The return time of Somalia’s missing army in Eritrea is announced,” December 20, 2022, https://www.radiodalsan.com/wararka-idaacadda/xilliga-dalka-lagu-soo-celinayo-ciidanka-soomaaliyeed-ee-ku-maqan-eritrea-oo-la-shaaciyay/.
