Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Saleh promises victory over al-Houthis in north while al-Beidh calls for southern independence; al-Houthi rebels execute two and kidnap nine in the northern Razeh district; independent weekly newspaper, al-Masdar, banned from publishing; nine Somali pirates apprehended by Yemeni authorities in the Thubab coastal area

Horn of Africa: Mogadishu clashes kill at least seven people; al-Shabaab militants arrest and lash over 200 Somali women for not veiling; over 13,000 Somali refugees transferred to new Kenyan camp

Yemen Security Brief

• In a rally held in Sana'a, President Ali Abdullah Saleh promised attendees that victory would come soon.� Meanwhile, the former president of south Yemen, Ali Salem al-Beidh, addressed Southern Movement supporters in Radfan by telephone from Germany calling for independence.[1]

• Al-Houthi rebels executed two men and kidnapped nine other citizens in the Razeh district for refusing to fight with them.� The rebels executed Yahya bin Yahya Musfer by firing a rocket-propelled grenade at him.� Local sources in Razeh report that at least eighteen rebels were killed in clashes with tribesmen supported by the government.[2]

• State-run al-Thawra Printing House has banned the publication of al-Masdar, an independent weekly newspaper, because of the content that would have been released in the latest issue.� Samir Jubran, the editor-in-chief, criticized not only the ban against his newspaper, but also the silence of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate towards repeated abuses from the government.[3]

• Yemeni authorities captured nine Somalis in the Thubab coastal area who are believed to be pirates.� The pirates had five rifles, two firearms, and rocket-propelled grenades in their possession when taken into custody.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Clashes in Mogadishu have killed at least seven people.� In the northern districts of Kaaraan and Shibis, Hizb al-Islam militants attacked government soldiers.� In the south, al-Shabaab fighters targeted African Union peacekeepers.� Sources report that the African Union peacekeepers unloaded weapons from a military ship on Monday.[5]

• Al-Shabaab militants arrested and lashed more than two-hundred Somali women, primarily from the villages of Suqa Holaha, Daynile, and the Bakara market in Mogadishu, for not veiling in public.�� The veil and skirt cost over 500 Somali shillings, which is a prohibitive cost for poor Somali women.[6]

• More than 13,000 Somali refugees have been moved from overcrowded camps in Kenya's region of Dadaab to Kakuma.� Those who have been moved face improved living conditions; however, those left behind in Dadaab, a camp hosting 280,000 refugees, over three times more than its designed capacity, saw no improvement since vacancies were filled by new arrivals.[7]

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