Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Tribal leaders unite against saboteurs in Ma’rib; security forces disarm bomb in Sana’a; AQAP attacks military camp in Lahij; security officials raid arms cache in Taiz; soldiers close airport in Hadramawt

Horn of Africa: Somali and AMISOM troops capture towns in Lower Shabelle region; IED targets Kenyan vehicle in Kismayo; governor attacked in Kismayo, Lower Jubba region; explosion targets Somali troops in Afgoi, Lower Shabelle region; market burns down in Garissa, Kenya; al Shabaab posts pictures of Kenyan hostages; al Shabaab releases message denouncing Omar Hammami and his allies; Somali refugee resettling conference to be held in Kenya in August

Yemen Security Brief

• The al Hutaik and al Jardan tribes in Ma’rib authorized the execution of those behind attacks on electricity and gas pipelines.[1]

• Yemeni security forces found and disarmed a car bomb in the al Safia area of Sana’a city on June 17.[2]

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) gunmen attacked a Yemeni Special Security Forces camp in al Hawta, Lahij governorate.[3]

• The 35th Armored Brigade raided a weapons cache used for smuggling arms and toxic pesticides in Wahija, Dhabab directorate, Taiz governorate on June 17.[4]

• Special Counter-Terrorism Forces shut down the al Rayan airport in al Mukalla, Hadramawt governorate and diverted civilian aircraft on June 17 protesting that a military transport plane that was supposed to take them back to Sana’a had not arrived.[5]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Somali and AMISOM troops peacefully captured Mubarak, Ugunji, Nuun and Furuqley towns, Lower Shabelle region on June 17. Al Shabaab withdrew from the cities before the Somali and AMISOM advance.[6]

• An improvised explosive device (IED) targeted a Kenyan vehicle in Kismayo, Lower Jubba region on June 18. The Kenyan vehicle was destroyed but the casualties from the explosion are not known. Kenyan troops fired into the crowd following the attack causing additional casualties.[7]

• Deputy to Ahmed Madobe and Governor of Kismayo Yasin Ratheer was shot in the head during a shootout between his security personnel and gunmen an illegal checkpoint in Kismayo, Lower Jubba region on June 18. Ratheer remains in critical condition.[8]

• An explosion targeted Somali troops in Afgoi, Lower Shabelle region on June 17. One civilian near the blast was killed and two others were injured.[9]

• The central market in Garissa, Kenya burnt down on June 17. Around 30 stalls were destroyed but the cause of the inflagration is not yet known.[10]

• Al Shabaab posted pictures to its Twitter page on June 16 showing two Kenyan police officers taken hostage during a raid on two police posts near Garissa, Kenya on May 25, 2013. Al Shabaab wrote that these men were two of seven Kenyan hostages in the group’s possession.[11]

• Al Shabaab released a message on jihadist forums on June 17, once again denouncing Omar Hammami and other senior al Shabaab officials who spoke out against leader Mukhtar Abu Zubair. Al Shabaab accused these men of corruption and spreading al Shabaab’s secrets.[12]

• A conference is to be held in Kenya in August to discuss the most effective and humane ways to begin resettling the one million Somali refugees currently living in Kenya.[13]