Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Al Houthi rebels and Yemeni security forces clash outside of Sa’ada; man arrested for attempted hijacking of Yemenia plane in Sana’a; security forces deployed to Aden because of Southern Movement rally

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab reports Hizb al Islam leaders currently in Kenya; Ethiopian troops seen in town of Galkayo; government troops arrest over thirty individuals in Mogadishu; Ugandan commander claims al Qaeda and Somali Islamists are cooperating; Somali pirates hijack oil tanker

Yemen Security Review

• A Yemeni military official reports that security forces and al Houthi rebels fought outside of Sa’ada on Saturday.  The army had stopped the advance of the al Houthis on Friday, and the fighting continued through Saturday.[1]

• Police arrested a man attempting to hijack a Yemenia plane bound for Cairo at the Sana’a International Airport on Saturday.  The man was carrying a hand grenade and a loaded firearm inside his bags.  He is from the northern province of Sa’ada, and so police have not yet ruled out that he is an al Houthi supporter.[2]

• Security forces closed roads leading to Aden and arrested about two-hundred people prior to a rally called for by the Southern Movement.  Residents report that hundreds of soldiers are in Aden, anticipating demonstrations marking the day that the last British soldier left the south.  Security forces have also been deployed to other southern towns.  On Sunday, armed men killed three people, including a security officer, on the Sana’a-Aden highway.  Clashes between separatists and security forces on Sunday in Radfan resulted in a grenade hitting the local intelligence headquarters and left one person dead.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Review

• Al Shabaab reports that a number of Hizb al Islam leaders have fled to Kenya after the strategic town of Dhobley fell to al Shabaab.  This increases Kenyan fears that the conflict will spill over the border – al Shabaab has already threatened to attack Kenya if it did not decrease its border security, especially near such towns as Dhobley.  In addition, al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Hassan Yaqub spoke of a meeting between Sheikh Hassan Turki, a prominent leader of Hizb al Islam and the commander of the Ras Kamboni militant group.[4]

• Residents report that Ethiopian troops have been spotted in Galkayo, the capital of Mudug region in central Somalia.  Galkayo is currently divided between two administrations – Puntland and Galmudug – and the Puntland administration has been accused of cooperating with Ethiopia.[5]

• Somali government troops have rounded up over thirty people in the Hamar Weyne district of Mogadishu, arresting them on charges of either banditry or drug-use.[6]

• Ugandan Major General Nathan Mugisha, who commands the Ugandan forces in Somalia, stated in an interview that he believes there is a relationship between al Qaeda and Somali Islamists.  He also added that there are a number of foreign fighters operating within Somalia.[7]

• Somali pirates hijacked a Greek-owned oil tanker headed from Saudi Arabia to the U.S. about 800 miles off the coast of Somalia.  The pirates are now in possession of approximately a dozen vessels and are holding over two-hundred crew members hostage.[8]