Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Southern Movement separatists kill three soldiers in Dhaleh clashes; study finds that majority of al Qaeda member in Yemen are natives; UK allocates $150m in aid for Yemen, cites development as best way to defeat terrorism

Horn of Africa: Somali government calls on militants to join peace talks; TFG announces it will retake Hiraan region from al Shabaab; Ugandan security forces say exit depends on stability in Somalia; EU naval commander says new anti-piracy tactics have been successful; Netherlands agrees to deploy submarine for anti-piracy operations; Somaliland election campaign concludes, one million voters registered; Puntland’s vice president flies to Ethiopia for security talks

Yemen Security Brief  

• Three soldiers were killed in fighting between the army and Southern Movement militants in recent days in Dhaleh province.  Separatists also reportedly attacked the house of Dhaleh’s provincial governor, bombarded a military post, and attempted to assassinate an intelligence officer on Tuesday.[1]

• According to a recent study, 56 percent of al Qaeda members in Yemen are Yemenis.  The analysis, by British terrorism expert Alistair Harris, found that a further 37 percent of members were Saudis and 7 percent were from other countries.  Moreover, Yemeni recruits were found to be equally distributed between northern and southern tribes.[2]

• The United Kingdom pledged $150 million in development aid to Yemen Tuesday at a meeting between President Saleh and top UK Foreign Office official Alistair Burt, who noted that bolstering the economy was the best way to fight extremism in Yemen.[3]

• TFG Information Minister Dahir Mahmud Gelle announced Tuesday that the government was willing to negotiate with all warring parties in Somalia to end violence.  The call for peace talks comes just days after the deputy prime minister revealed that reconciliation talks with Hizb al Islam were underway.[4]

• Commanders of TFG forces in Somalia’s central Hiraan region say they are preparing to retake the area from al Shabaab militants.[5]

• Ugandan security forces say they plan on leaving Somalia when stability returns, according to the army’s land forces commander.[6]

• EU Naval Force (NAVFOR) Commander Jan Thornqvist says the group’s new tactics have been successful at disrupting more pirate attacks near Somalia’s coast.[7]

• The Netherlands has responded to a NATO request by announcing plans to deploy a submarine off the coast of Somalia to assist with anti-piracy reconnaissance efforts.[8]

• Somaliland’s electoral commission announced Tuesday that the election campaign had ended and that more than one million people had been registered for Saturday’s upcoming presidential vote.[9]

• Puntland’s Deputy President Abdisamad Ali Shire flew to Ethiopia today to meet with leader in Addis Ababa to discuss security issues.[10]