Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Airstrike kills four suspected AQAP militants in Ma’rib governorate; clashes between al Houthis and tribesmen continue in Hamdan district

Horn of Africa: al Shabaab fires mortars throughout Mogadishu; AMISOM and Somali forces attack al Shabaab in Lower Shabelle region; Somali National Army executes Somali soldiers in Mogadishu

Yemen Security Brief

• A reported U.S. airstrike killed four suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants in Al Shabwan in Ma’rib governorate on March 10. Two local AQAP leaders were killed in the strike, Abad Hamad Jabar al Shabwani and Jaafar Mohamed Jabar al Shabwani.[1]

• Clashes between al Houthi militants and tribesmen in Hamdan district in Sana’a governorate continued through March 10, despite efforts to negotiate a ceasefire. At least seven people were injured on March 10. Al Houthis control Dhirhan village and Mount al Qizah. The Hamdan tribesmen issued a statement on March 9 condemning the al Houthis’ killing of innocent people and noted the tribe’s determination to stand fast against such acts of aggression. The al Houthis blew up the home of a tribal elder on March 10 in the area.[2]  

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the mortar shelling of several Mogadishu districts on March 10. Reports indicate that the mortar blasts, heard in the Bondhere, Hodan, Waberi, and Wardhigley districts, killed at least one individual and injured two others. In response, Somali security forces conducted a search operation in the Wadajir district of Mogadishu on March 11, detaining dozens of suspects.[3]

• AMISOM and Somali forces attacked al Shabaab bases near Bulo Marer and Qoryoley in Lower Shabelle region on March 10. The governor of Lower Shabelle, Abdikr Nur Sidi, reported that at least nine al Shabaab militants were killed while four friendly soldiers were injured in the confrontation. AMISOM spokesman Colonel Ali Aden Houmed stated that he did not anticipate further resistance from al Shabaab in the region.[4]

• A Somali National Army (SNA) firing squad executed two Somali soldiers and a local security officer in Mogadishu on March 11. Somalia’s military court sentenced the individuals to death for the murder of civilians.[5]