Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Yemeni security forces announce death of AQAP leader in al Bayda governorate; tribal sheikhs mediate between al Ada’am and al Siraji tribesmen in Ibb governorate; al Houthis clash with Yemeni security forces near Amran city in Amran governorate

Horn of Africa: al Shabaab claims responsibility for ambush of Kenyan police in the North Eastern Province of Kenya; al Shabaab militants attack Somali security forces in Mogadishu and Bay region; car bomb targets former deputy district commissioner in Mogadishu

Yemen Security Brief

• Yemeni security forces reportedly killed an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader in al Bayda governorate on May 19. The leader was identified as Gulaibib al Yamani, although further details regarding the incident remain unclear.[1]

• Tribal sheikhs have stepped in to mediate a peace treaty between al Ada’am and al Siraji tribesmen in Ibb governorate on May 19. The two tribes began fighting on May 16 after an al Ada’am tribesman prevented al Siraji tribesmen from distributing al Houthi brochures in the area. The initial clash resulted in the death of two civilians and the wounding of four others, and both tribes have reportedly established barricades in preparation for further fighting.[2]

• Al Houthi rebels clashed with Yemeni security forces near a western entrance to Amran city in Amran governorate on May 20. Fighting broke out after al Houthi rebels attempted to gain control of a Yemeni security checkpoint. Local sources report that at least eight Yemeni soldiers and at least 15 al Houthi rebels were killed in the clash, with an additional 15 al Houthi rebels reported as wounded.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Abdul Aziz Abu Musab claimed al Shabaab was responsible for a May 19 attack on Kenyan police in Mandera in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. The al Shabaab militants originally intercepted and seized two civilian vehicles transporting qat near Mandera. The militants then ambushed Kenyan police responding to the incident, destroying two police vehicles. Three Kenyan police reservists were among 12 people killed in the attacks. The militants reportedly fled toward the Somali border immediately after the ambush.[4]

• Suspected al Shabaab militants attacked Somali security forces near a police station in the Yaqshid district of Mogadishu on May 19. Although the fighting reportedly lasted for several hours, the extent of casualties suffered by either side remains unclear. Separately, al Shabaab militants ambushed an AMISOM and SNA convoy near Baidoa in Bay region on May 20. The ensuing confrontation featured heavy exchanges of gunfire, killing one and injuring an unspecified number of others. Finally, SNA representatives claimed that a senior al Shabaab official, Sheikh Abdurashid Baka, was killed in a May 19 clash between al Shabaab militants and AMISOM and SNA forces in Qoryole in Lower Shabelle region.[5]

• A car bomb targeted a former deputy district commissioner of Hamar Jabjab district in Mogadishu, Farah Dahir Jimale, on May 19. Explosives planted within Jimale’s vehicle detonated, injuring the former government official, as he was traveling in the Hamar Weyne district of Mogadishu. Jimale later died from his injuries. Although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, al Shabaab’s representative to Banadir region specifically threatened former Mogadishu district officials in a May 4 public statement.[6]