Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Unidentified gunmen assassinate senior Yemeni intelligence officer in Aden; al Houthi clashes kill seven people in north

Horn of Africa: Kenya offers to deploy troops to AMISOM; Somali and Ethiopian troops reportedly conduct training exercise; Somali police kill one person at aid distribution point in Mogadishu; Kenyan authorities confiscate fake Somali passports; al Shabaab attacks Kenyan, TFG, and militia bases in Lower Jubba region  

Yemen Security Brief  

• Unidentified gunmen gunned down senior Yemeni intelligence officer, Colonel Abdulhakim al Qadhi, in Sheikh al Othman district in Aden.[1]  

• Clashes erupted between al Houthi rebels and gunmen loyal to the opposition group, the Joint Meeting Parties, killing six people in al Jawf governorate on November 14. At least three of the dead were reportedly al Houthi rebels from Yemen’s minority Zaid sect. Separately, al Houthi rebels clashed with gunmen loyal to the opposition killing one person and wounding several others in al Hajjah governorate on November 15.[2]  

Horn of Africa Security Brief  

• The presidents of Kenya, Uganda, and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) met in Nairobi to discuss security issues. Kenyan foreign affairs minister Moses Wetangula said, “The meeting emphasized the need for enhancing coordination between AMISOM, TFG forces and Kenya Defense forces in order to successfully defeat al Shabaab.” Kenya noted that it would be willing to deploy troops to AMISOM.[3]  

• TFG and Ethiopian troops reportedly conducted a training exercise in the town of Kalabeyr north of Beledweyne in Hiraan region. Locals report that al Shabaab militants left bases in the area fearing an attack.[4]  

• Locals report that Somali police fired into a crowd of displaced persons at a food distribution point in Wadajir district in Mogadishu. One person was killed and two others were injured.[5]  

• Officials from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) confiscated a number of fake Somali passports, identification cards, and finger print machines from a cargo container in Mombasa Port. The cargo container was from the United Arab Emirates and imported by a company named Marine Technology.  KRA official Benson Chacha said, "The fake passports and IDs were hidden between boxes of computers and CCTV cameras to make it difficult to find them in a search."[6]

• Al Shabaab militants attacked Kenyan, TFG, and Ras Kamboni bases near Kolboi in Lower Jubba region. At least four people were killed.[7]