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: Saudi-led coalition forces mistakenly kill nine Hadi government soldiers
Horn of Africa: NISA disrupts al Shabaab explosives ring in Mogadishu; al Shabaab destroys roadside security cameras in Mogadishu
Yemen Security Brief
The Saudi-led coalition mistakenly killed nine soldiers fighting for President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government in an airstrike conducted in al Jafra in Ma’rib governorate in northern Yemen on January 28. The airstrike injured ten others. The incident occurred amid ongoing clashes between Saudi-led coalition forces and al Houthi militants in Ma’rib and Sana’a governorates. The tensions between the two sides have escalated in northern Yemen since a suspected al Houthi attack on a Hadi government military training camp in Ma’rib governorate in mid-January. The al Houthis fired ballistic missiles at unspecified targets in Ma’rib city, the capital of Ma’rib governorate on January 23.[1]
Horn of Africa Security Brief
The Somali National Intelligence Security Agency (NISA) uncovered an al Shabaab explosives ring in the Somali capital Mogadishu and seized explosives from the cell between January 26 and 28. The NISA conducted a similar operation in January 2019, seizing several militant weapons and explosives in Mogadishu.[2]
Al Shabaab militants detonated multiple improvised explosive devices (IEDs) targeting security cameras on major roads in Mogadishu on January 30. The explosions destroyed at least four closed-circuit TV cameras. NISA installed the cameras in December 2019 to monitor crime and militant activity in the capital.[3]
[1] “Yemen: Saudi coalition air strike ‘mistakenly’ kills pro-Hadi soldiers,” Middle East Monitor, January 29, 2020, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200129-yemen-saudi-coalition-air-strike-mistakenly-kills-pro-hadi-soldiers/; and Jessica Kocan, “Gulf of Aden Security Review – January 24, 2020,” Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, January 24, 2020, https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-january-24-2020.
[2] “Somali spy agency cracks Shabaab IED ring in Mogadishu,” Hiiraan, January 30, 2020, http://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2020/Jan/166971/somali_spy_agency_cracks_shabaab_ied_ring_in_mogadishu.aspx.
[3] “Al Shabaab destroys CCTV cameras along major roads in Mogadishu with IEDs,” Garowe, January 30, 2020, https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/al-shabaab-destroys-cctv-cameras-along-major-roads-in-mogadishu-with-ieds.
