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: UN Special Envoy for Yemen meets with al Houthi officials in Oman to continue negotiations over al Hudaydah port; al Houthi forces fire ballistic missile at Emirati-backed Yemeni forces in southern al Hudaydah governorate
Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab kills SNA soldier in Yaqshid district, Mogadishu; Ethiopian prime minister forms investigation committee; UN reports child deaths in Somalia conflict
Yemen Security Brief:
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths met with al Houthi officials to continue negotiations over a possible al Houthi withdrawal from. Griffiths met with al Houthi officials in Muscat, Oman on June 28 after meeting with Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Aden city, southern Yemen on June 27. Hadi government Foreign Minister Khaled al Yamani subsequently demanded that al Houthi forces withdraw entirely from al Hudaydah governorate and that members of the Hadi government Ministry of Interior gain access to the port.[1]
Al Houthi forces fired a Qaher M2 ballistic missile at Emirati-backed Yemeni forces in southern al Hudaydah governorate on Yemen's western coast on June 28, according to the al Houthi news agency. [2]
Horn of Africa Security Brief
Al Shabaab militants killed a Somali National Army (SNA) soldier in Sinay junction, Yaqshid district, northeastern on June 27. The al Shabaab militants seized the soldier’s gun before leaving the scene.[3]
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed formed a committee to investigate acts against his reform program. The committee is a response to a grenade attack at a pro-Abiy Ahmed rally on June 23.[4]
The United Nations released its annual report on children in armed conflicts on June 27. The report stated that the SNA and AMISOM forces, among others in the country, have killed 246 children in 2017. The report also stated that these forces recruited children.[5]
[1] OSE_Yemen, Twitter, June 28, 2018, https://twitter.com/OSE_Yemen/status/1012335238842896385; and “Foreign Minister: I cannot imagine the port management and the security provisions separate from al Hudaydah City,” Saba New, June 27, 2018, http://www.sabanew.net/viewstory/34998.
[2] “Report: Yemen army shells sites, gatherings of Saudi enemy, its mercenaries over 24 hours,” Saba News, June 28, https://www.sabanews.net/en/news500195.htm; and “Breaking: Houthi forces fire ballistic missile at UAE-backed forces in west Yemen,” Al Masdar News, June 28, 2018, https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-houthi-forces-fire-ballistic-missile-at-uae-backed-forces-in-west-yemen/.
[3] “Somali soldier shot dead in Mogadishu,” Radio Shabelle, June 28, 2018, http://radioshabelle.com/somali-soldier-shot-dead-in-mogadishu/.
[4] Addis Standard, Twitter, June 28, 2018, https://twitter.com/addisstandard/status/1012261775675359233.
[5] “Children and armed conflict report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations, June 27, 2018, http://undocs.org/s/2018/465; Satoshi Sugiyama, “U.N. Reports Sharp Increase in Children Killed or Maimed in Conflicts,” NY Times, June 27, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/world/un-children-armed-conflict.html; Mogadishu News, Twitter, June 28, 2018, https://twitter.com/Mogadishu_News/status/1012312242510028800; and Kevin J. Kelley, “KDF killed 6 children in Somalia, Shabaab 208: UN,” Daily Nation, June 28, 2018, https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Child-deaths-violence-Somalia-UN/1056-4636102-xm8gfwz/index.html.
