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: Al Houthi movement claims to down US-made drone; STC and Hadi government postpone signing power-sharing agreement; al Houthi movement claims to release prisoners in Ma’rib
Horn of Africa: SNA and Jubbaland forces kill al Shabaab militants in Lower Jubba region; Ethiopia arrests over 400 individuals following deadly protests
Yemen Security Brief
The al Houthi movement claimed to shoot down a US-made ScanEagle drone near the Saudi border in northern Yemen on November 1. Al Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sare’a stated that the drone was collecting intelligence. The claim is unverified.[1]
The Transitional Political Council for the South (STC), a southern Yemeni secessionist group, and President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government postponed signing a power-sharing agreement due to clashes in southern Yemen’s Abyan governorate on October 31. Hadi government-aligned forces seized Abyan’s Ahwar district from STC-aligned forces after several hours of fighting. The Hadi government and STC had been scheduled to sign a power-sharing agreement in Riyadh on October 31.[2]
The head of the al Houthi movement’s National Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs, Abdul Qader al Murtada, claimed that the group had released six prisoners in western Yemen’s on October 31.[3]
Horn of Africa Security Brief
The Somali National Army (SNA) and Jubbaland Security Forces launched an operation targeting al Shabaab militants in villages on the outskirts of in Lower Jubba region in southern Somalia on October 31. Security forces killed seven militants and wounded eight others.[4]
Ethiopian security forces have arrested over 400 individuals in south-central Ethiopia in recent days for suspected involvement in protests and ethnic clashes that killed 78 people last week. Protests started when a prominent ethnic Oromo activist accused security forces of orchestrating an attack against him. Anti-government demonstrations quickly spread throughout the capital, , as well as Oromia region.[5]
Visit our Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Ethiopia storystreams.
[1] “Yemen’s Houthis down U.S.-made drone near Saudi border: spokesman,” Reuters, November 1, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/yemens-houthis-down-u-s-made-drone-near-saudi-border-spokesman-idUSKBN1XB3JE?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29; “Yemeni rebels claim they have shot down a US-made drone,” ABC News, November 1, 2019, https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemeni-rebels-claim-shot-us-made-drone-66683072; Yahya Sare’a, Twitter, November 1, 2019, https://twitter.com/army21ye/status/1190162163845017600.
[2] “Signing Saudi-brokered deal on Yemen postponed as fighting resumed,” Xinhuanet, November 1, 2019, http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/01/c_138519163.htm; “Disputes between southern political forces behind the postponement of the signing of the Riyadh Agreement,” al Mashad al Yemeni, November 1, 2019, https://www.almashhad-alyemeni.com/148392.
[3] “Yemeni Prisoners Committee: 6 prisoners are freed by local mediation in Marib,” al Alam, October 31, 2019, https://www.alalamtv.net/news/4528776/%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B1-6-%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%89-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B7%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%A8.
[4] “Somalia’s military kills at least 7 Al-Shabaab militants,” Garowe, October 31, 2019, https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalias-military-kills-at-least-7-al-shabaab-militants.
[5] “Ethiopia arrests 400 as govt defends response to deadly ethnic violence,” Daily Nation, October 31, 2019, https://www.nation.co.ke/news/africa/Ethiopia-arrests-400-after-deadly-clashes/1066-5332342-i5v0kb/index.html.
