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: AQAP eulogizes Hurras al Din senior official; Hadi meets with UN Special Envoy to Yemen in Saudi capital; Saudi-led coalition launches airstrikes on al Houthi sites in Sana'a governorate; al Houthis deploy militants to al Bayda governorate; Hadi government forces claim eliminating al Houthi weapons smuggling cell in Ma’rib governorate
Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab claims targeting Somali president in Mogadishu; SNA repels al Shabaab attack in central Somalia
Yemen Security Brief:
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) issued a eulogy for Hurras al Din Deputy Emir Khalid Mustafa al 'Aruri on June 29. A suspected US drone strike killed 'Aruri in Syria in mid-June. Hurras al Din issued a eulogy for AQAP's late emir Qasim al Raymi in late February. AQAP previously released a statement in mid-May about an internal "cabal."[1]
President of the internationally recognized Yemeni government Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi met with UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on June 30. They reportedly discussed the proposed UN-led cease-fire agreement between the al Houthi movement and Hadi’s government. They also discussed the November 2019 Riyadh agreement between Hadi’s government and the Transitional Political Council of the South (STC). President Hadi called on the STC to abide by the Riyadh Agreement during a meeting with Hadi government officials in Riyadh on June 27.[2]
The Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes targeting al Houthi sites in Sana'a governorate on July 1, including an alleged drone and missile site in Yemen’s capital Sana’a. A Saudi spokesman claimed Saudi forces intercepted an al Houthi ballistic missile launched from Sana'a city toward Riyadh on June 23.[3]
The al Houthi movement has reportedly deployed “hundreds” of militants to al Bayda governorate’s Qaniya front in central Yemen in preparation of a major military operation targeting Ma'rib governorate in northern Yemen. Al Houthi militants reportedly took control of territory from Hadi government forces in Qaniya in late June.[4]
Hadi government forces claimed dismantling an alleged al Houthi weapons smuggling cell in Ma’rib governorate’s Wadi Abidah district on June 29, killing eight al Houthi militants.[5]
Horn of Africa Security Brief:
Al Shabaab militants fired mortar shells at a sports stadium in the Somali capital Mogadishu’s Wardheegle district on June 30. The newly opened Mogadishu Stadium formerly served as a military base. Al Shabaab claimed targeting Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo’s motorcade on the same day. President Farmaajo had visited the stadium’s opening ceremony prior to the attack. An al Shabaab militant detonated a suicide vest targeting Somali National Army (SNA) forces at a Turkish military base in Mogadishu on June 23.[6]
SNA forces repelled an al Shabaab attack on a SNA base near Beledweyne town in central Somalia’s Hiraan region on June 29. SNA and Djiboutian African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces killed seven al Shabaab militants near Beledweyne town in mid-June.[7]
[1] “AQAP Mourns Death of Hurras al-Deen Leader,” SITE Intelligence Group, June 30, 2020, available by subscription at www.siteintelgroup.com; “Hurras al-Deen Issues Condolensces for AQAP Leader Qassim al-Rimi,” SITE Intelligence Group, March 4, 2020, available by subscription at www.siteintelgroup.com; and Muhammad Ramadhito and Kalissa Azooz, “Gulf of Aden Security Review – May 14, 2020,” Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, May 14, 2020, https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-may-14-2020.
[2] “International support for the Sharia and Transitional Agreement,” 7adramout, July 1, 2020, https://www.7adramout.net/aden-time/7424376/%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%85-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D9%82-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A.html; and Matthew Eady and Zachary Jaynes, “Gulf of Aden Security Review – June 29, 2020,” Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, June 29, 2020, https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-june-29-2020.
[3] “Coalition fighter targets the missile platforms in Sanaa,” 7adramout, July 1, 2020, https://www.7adramout.net/almashhadalaraby/7424294/%D9%85%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81-%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%D9%81-%D9%85%D9%86%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE-%D8%A8%D8%B5%D9%86%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%A1.html; and Zachary Jaynes and Matthew Eady, “Gulf of Aden Security Review – June 24, 2020,” Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, June 24, 2020, https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-june-24-2020.
[4] “After legitimacy and the coalition vowed of "strategic operations" ... the Houthi militia is mobilizing to launch the first offensive operation,” Al Mashhad al Yemeni, July 1, 2020, https://www.almashhad-alyemeni.com/170733; and Matthew Eady and Zachary Jaynes, “Gulf of Aden Security Review – June 26, 2020,” Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, June 26, 2020, https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-june-26-2020.
[5] “International newspaper: the elimination of a Houthi cell specialized in smuggling ‘ballistic’ parts,” Al Mashhad al Yemeni, June 30, 2020, https://www.almashhad-alyemeni.com/170639.
[6] “Somalia: Mortar shells fired at Mogadishu stadium hours after being reopened by Farmajo,” Garowe, July 1, 2020, https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-mortar-shells-fired-at-mogadishu-stadium-hours-after-being-reopened-by-farmajo; “Shabaab claims targeting Somali PM’s motorcade with explosion in Mogadishu,” SITE Intelligence Group, June 20, 2020, available by subscription at www.siteintelgroup.com; and Matthew Eady and Zachary Jaynes, “Gulf of Aden Security Review – June 24, 2020,” Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, June 24, 2020, https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-june-24-2020.
[7] “SNA troops repulse al Shabaab attack at army base in central Somalia,” Garowe, June 20, 2020, https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/sna-troops-repulse-al-shabaab-attack-at-army-base-in-central-somalia; and Matthew Eady and Zachary Jaynes, “Gulf of Aden Security Review – June 17, 2020,” Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, June 17, 2020, https://www.criticalthreats.org/briefs/gulf-of-aden-security-review/gulf-of-aden-security-review-june-17-2020.
