Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Al Houthis launch drone attacks targeting southwestern Saudi cities; Hadi government and STC reportedly begin peace talks in Riyadh; Hadi government-aligned forces claim killing al Houthi militants in northern Yemen; Hadi government forces reportedly repel al Houthi advances in al Bayda governorate

Horn of Africa: Suspected al Shabaab militant conducts suicide attack in Mogadishu; suspected al Shabaab IED kills five in south-central Somalia; SNA repels al Shabaab attack in south-central Somalia

 Yemen Security Brief:

The al Houthi movement claimed launching drones toward Khamis Mushait and Najran cities in southwestern Saudi Arabia on July 3. An al Houthi official claimed the attack hit the control room of Najran’s airport and weapon and aircraft storage facilities of King Khalid air base in Khamis Mushait. Saudi forces claimed intercepting four al Houthi drones launched toward the kingdom the same day.[1]

The internationally recognized Yemeni government of Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Transitional Political Council of the South (STC) reportedly began peace talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. President Hadi urged the STC to abide by the November 2019 Riyadh Agreement in late June. The Riyadh Agreement was intended to facilitate a power-sharing dynamic between the two sides. The STC declared self-rule in southern Yemen in April in an attempt to displace Hadi’s government.[2]

Hadi government-aligned forces claimed destroying several al Houthi vehicles along Ma’rib and al Jawf governorates’ border on July 5, killing several al Houthi militants. Hadi government officials claimed surrounding al Hazm city, the capital of al Jawf governorate, in late June.[3]

Hadi government forces claimed preventing al Houthi militants from advancing in Qaniya front in al Bayda governorate in central Yemen on July 5. Hadi government forces reportedly killed several al Houthi militants, including an al Houthi leader. Al Houthi militants reportedly sent reinforcements to Qaniya in late June.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief:

A suspected al Shabaab militant conducted a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack in Hamar Jajab district of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on July 4. Somali officials reported that the attack targeted a tax collection center. The explosion killed the attacker and injured at least five civilians. An al Shabaab militant detonated a suicide vest targeting Somali National Army (SNA) forces at a Turkish-run military base in Mogadishu in late June.[5]

A suspected al Shabaab improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in Baidoa city in south-central Somalia’s Bay region on July 5. The explosion killed at least five civilians and injured at least eight others. Al Shabaab claimed an IED attack that killed four civilians near Baidoa in late May.[6]

SNA forces repelled an al Shabaab attack on a SNA base near Awdinle town in Bay region on July 6, killing five al Shabaab militants. Al Shabaab militants attacked an Ethiopian National Defense Force base in Bay region in early June.[7]