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: President Hadi reiterates call for Houthis to disarm and abandon territorial gains; unidentified gunmen assassinate Saudi-led coalition-trained soldier in Hadramawt
Horn of Africa: AFRICOM airstrike targets al Shabaab training camp near Beledweyne; suspected al Shabaab militants kill two civilians in Mogadishu; Sudanese President reshuffles senior military council
Yemen Security Brief
President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi reiterated on February 26 that Yemen can only achieve peace in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2216 from 2015, which demands that al Houthi forces withdraw from all areas seized during the conflict and disarm. The al Houthi movement rejected those terms in the most recent round of UN-led peace consultations in December 2018.[1]
Unidentified gunmen assassinated a Hadi government-aligned soldier in in Hadramawt governorate in eastern Yemen on February 26. The soldier was a member of a special task force trained by the Saudi-led coalition. Unidentified gunmen separately assassinated a soldier from the Emirati-backed Hadhrami Elite Forces in Wadi Hadramawt near Sayun city on February 22.[2]
Horn of Africa Security Brief
United States Africa Command (U.S. AFRICOM) conducted an airstrike targeting an al Shabaab training camp near Shebeeley village in Hiraan region in central Somalia on February 25. The airstrike killed 20 militants and destroyed one vehicle. AFRICOM stated that al Shabaab uses the camp to stage attacks on the nearby Hiraan region capital, . Al Shabaab separately claimed that a February 23 U.S. airstrike near Qunyo Barrow village in Middle Jubba region in southern Somalia killed two civilians. AFRICOM previously stated that the air strike killed no civilians.[3]
Suspected al Shabaab militants killed two civilians with grenades at an internet cafe in the Bondhere district of , Somalia’s capital, on February 27. The explosion injured two other people.[4]
Sudanese President Omar al Bashir reorganized his senior military council on February 26, four days after declaring a national state of emergency in response to nationwide anti-regime protests. President Bashir appointed the military council’s former deputy head as the new Defense Minister. Bashir previously appointed military officers as governors of each of Sudan’s 16 states on February 23.[5]
[1] President Hadi, Twitter, February 26, 2019, https://twitter.com/HadiPresident/status/1100484155832438784; and “Security Council demands end to Yemen violence, adopting resolution 2216 (2015), with Russian Federation abstaining,” United Nations, April 14, 2015, https://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc11859.doc.htm.
[2] “For the first time in Hadramawt a soldier is killed and then looted,” Al Mashhad al Yemeni, February 27, 2019, https://www.almashhad-alyemeni.com/127864; and “Unknown gunmen assassinate a soldier in Hadramawt,” al Mushahid, February 26, 2019, https://www.almushahid.net/?p=40236.
[3] “U.S., Federal Government of Somalia target al Shabaab encampment,” U.S. AFRICOM, February 26, 2019, https://www.africom.mil/media-room/pressrelease/31563/u-s-federal-government-of-somalia-target-al-shabaab-encampment; “Shabaab alleges civilian deaths in U.S. airstrike in Qunyow Barrow, attacks on Somalia MP in Mogadishu and AMISOM helicopter in Lower Shabelle,” Site Intelligence Group, February 26, 2019, English translation available by subscription at www.siteintelgroup.com; and “Gulf of Aden Security Review - February 25, 2019, Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-february-25-2019.
[4] “Two killed in explosion at Internet cafe in Mogadishu,” Mareeg, February 27, 2019, https://mareeg.com/somalia-two-killed-in-explosion-at-internet-cafe-in-mogadishu/.
[5] “Sudan’s Bashir reshuffles senior military staff: statement,” Reuters, February 26, 2019, https://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKCN1QF1R1-OZATP; and “Gulf of Aden Security Review - February 25, 2019, Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-february-25-2019.
