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: US State Department offers rewards for senior AQAP officials; President Hadi meets STC President in Saudi Arabia
Horn of Africa: Puntland executes al Shabaab and Islamic State militants; Burundian AMISOM contingent receives new APCs; AFRICOM commander meets Ethiopian Prime Minister in Addis Ababa
Yemen Security Brief
The US Department of State offered rewards totaling ten million US dollars for information on two senior al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) officials on November 7. The US offered six million dollars for information on Sa’ad bin Atef al Awlaki, AQAP’s emir of Shabwah governorate in southern Yemen. The US also offered four million dollars for information on Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi, a veteran al Qaeda operative and former Guantanamo Bay detainee who joined AQAP after his 2012 release.[1]
President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi met with Transitional Political Council for the South (STC) President Aydarus al Zubaidi in on November 7. President Hadi’s government and the STC, a southern Yemeni separatist organization, signed a power-sharing agreement in Riyadh on November 5 to end three months of conflict over control of Yemen’s de facto capital, .[2]
Horn of Africa Security Brief
Puntland Security Forces publicly executed al Shabaab and Islamic State in Somalia militants in port city in Somalia’s northern Puntland State on November 7.[3]
Burundian soldiers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in Middle Shabelle region in central Somalia received a delivery of at least twenty armored personnel carriers (APCs) on November 6. Some of the APCs are fitted with remote-controlled jammers to prevent al Shabaab improvised explosive device (IED) attacks.[4]
The Commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), General Stephen Townsend, met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Ethiopia’s capital, , on November 6. General Townsend and Abiy discussed US-Ethiopian security cooperation, AMISOM, and stability in East Africa.[5]
Visit our Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia storystreams.
[1] “Reward Offers for Information on Senior Leaders of al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula,” U.S. Department of State, November 7, 2019, https://www.state.gov/reward-offers-for-information-on-senior-leaders-of-al-qaida-in-the-arabian-peninsula/; and “The Guantanamo Docket: Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi,” The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/guantanamo/detainees/54-ibrahim-ahmed-mahmoud-al-qosi.
[2] “Yemen’s President Hadi meets separatist leader after deal ends power struggle,” Reuters, November 7, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-hadi/yemens-president-hadi-meets-separatist-leader-after-deal-ends-power-struggle-idUSKBN1XH2JE; “Hadi meets with Zubaidi and Ben Brik in Riyadh.. What happened between them?”, 7adramout.net, November 7, 2019, https://www.7adramout.net/alyamanalarab/7215828/%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86---%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B2%D9%8F%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A-%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%83-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B0%D8%A7-%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%87%D9%85%D8%9F.html.
[3] “ISIS and Al Shabaab militants executed in Somalia’s Puntland,” Garowe, November 7, 2019, https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/puntland/isis-and-al-shabaab-militants-executed-in-somalias-puntland.
[4] “Burundi boosts AMISOM operations with combat vehicles,” AMISOM, November 6, 2019, http://amisom-au.org/2019/11/burundi-boosts-amisom-operations-with-combat-vehicles/; “Burundi receives new armoured vehicles for Amisom operations,” Defence Web, November 7, 2019, https://www.defenceweb.co.za/featured/burundi-receives-new-armoured-vehicles-for-amisom-operations/.
[5] “AFRICOM Commander Meets with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Ethiopian Military Leaders,” US AFRICOM, November 6, 2019, https://www.africom.mil/media-room/pressrelease/32346/africom-commander-meets-with-ethiopian-prime-minister-abiy-ahmed-and-ethiopian-military-leaders.
