Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Al Houthis claim capturing town in Ma’rib governorate; al Houthi militants attack and injure Hadi government liaison officer in al Hudaydah governorate; UAE-backed forces attack Hadi government forces in Taiz governorate; Saudi-led coalition forces block STC leaders from returning to Aden City

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab fires mortars targeting AMISOM troops in southern Somalia; al Shabaab attacks AMISOM and SNA forces at military base in southern Somalia; al Shabaab ambushes passenger bus in eastern Kenya; Somalis accuse AFRICOM of killing civilians in airstrike in southern Somalia

Yemen Security Brief:

Al Houthi militants claimed they seized Tabab al Bara in Sirwah district in Ma’rib governorate in northern Yemen on March 10. The Saudi-led coalition forces clashed with al Houthi militants in Sirwah district on March 10.^[1]

A spokesman for forces aligned with the internationally recognized Yemeni government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi reported on March 12 that an al Houthi militant shot and injured a Hadi government liaison officer in al Hudaydah governorate in western Yemen. The attack caused several Hadi government liaison officers to suspend their participation in UN observation posts established to monitor a cease-fire in the governorate. The implementation of a cease-fire in al Hudaydah governorate is one of the three key stipulations set forth by the December 2018 UN-sponsored Stockholm Agreement.^[2]

United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed forces clashed with Hadi government forces in Taiz governorate on March 11. The UAE-backed forces attempted to raid the governorate’s Special Security headquarters. Hadi government forces repelled the attack, according to local media.[3]

The Saudi-led coalition forces claimed that they blocked Southern Transitional Council (STC) leaders from returning to Aden City in Aden governorate in southwestern Yemen on March 12. The STC seeks to establish an independent southern state in Yemen and seized control of Aden from the Hadi government in August 2019.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief:

Al Shabaab fired mortars targeting Ugandan African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) troops at an airfield near Barawe in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region on March 11. Al Shabaab launched a mortar attack on the Green Zone in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu in early March.^[5]

Al Shabaab ambushed Ugandan AMISOM troops and Somali National Army (SNA) forces at a military base near the town of Awdheegle in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region on March 11. Al Shabaab and SNA officials reported unspecified casualties on both sides. Al Shabaab attacked the Awdheegle base the day prior.^[6]

Al Shabaab militants ambushed a passenger bus, kidnapping the bus mechanic, near the town of Rhamu in northeastern Kenya’s Mandera County on March 11. The militants forced the passengers to disembark and to prove that they were eastern Kenyan Muslims. Al Shabaab attacked a passenger bus in Mandera County in mid-February, killing four passengers.^[7]

A Somali lawmaker and locals accused US Africa Command (AFRICOM) on March 11 of killing six civilians in an airstrike near Janaale in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region on March 9. AFRICOM assessed that the strike targeted and killed five al Shabaab militants, causing no civilian casualties. Al Shabaab released a statement on March 11 condemning the AFRICOM airstrike in Janaale and included interviews with the alleged victims’ families.^[8]