Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Grundberg aims to discuss additional extensions to Yemen’s truce; Houthi militants raid independent radio station in Sana’a; IS claims suicide attack in southern Yemen

Somalia: SNA forces clear villages in southern Somalia; PSF and PMPF clash in northern Somalia 

Yemen Security Brief:

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said on July 11 he will discuss an additional extension to the truce agreement with the Houthis and the Yemeni government “in the coming weeks.”[i] The Houthis and the Yemeni government agreed to extend the truce an additional two months on June 1.[ii] Grundberg also said that he aims to begin negotiations to establish a more permanent ceasefire.

Houthi militants raided the headquarters of the independent Voice of Yemen radio station in Sana’a city and stopped its broadcast on July 11.[iii] The Houthi-controlled Press Court issued a ruling on July 7 that allowed Voice of Yemen to resume broadcasting.[iv]

The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency claimed Islamic State-Yemen (IS-Yemen) conducted a suicide bombing targeting a Houthi convoy in al Bayda governorate, southern Yemen, on July 9.[v] No local sources have corroborated Amaq’s attribution of responsibility or indicated whether such an attack even took place. IS-Yemen claimed the suicide bomber was a foreign fighter.

Somalia Security Brief:

Somali National Army (SNA) forces cleared two villages on the Dolow-Luuq highway from al Shabaab militants in Luuq and Dolow districts, Gedo region, southern Somalia, on July 11.[vi] SNA officials claimed to kill four al Shabaab militants. Al Shabaab ambushed Somali security forces securing Dolow-Luuq highway near Shaatilow on July 8.[vii]

Puntland Security Forces (PSF) clashed with Puntland Marine Police Force (PMPF) in Bossaso airport, Bossaso, Bari region, northern Somalia, on July 11.[viii] The clash started after PMPF forces refused to allow a plane with humanitarian aid and the Acting President and First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Saadiya Yasin Haji Samatar to land in Bossaso airport. Samatar allegedly refused to ask for permission to land in Bossaso. PMPF forces denied entry to the airport to armed PSF forces who planned to welcome the plane, resulting in a clash between the forces.