Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: World Bank pledges $480 million over four years to Yemen for development; tribal chiefs call for government reinforcement against the al-Houthi rebels; Egypt to send assistance to Yemen in military plane

Horn of Africa: Al-Shabaab enforces strict Shari'a law in Mogadishu; al-Shabaab attacks AMISOM bases in Mogadishu; clashes occur between al-Shabaab and pro-government Ahlu Sunna Waljamaa in central Somalia; in Bakool, government soldiers gain control of Burdhuhle village; the Transitional Federal Government responds to South African allegations of Somalis planning terrorist attacks

�Yemen Security Brief

• The World Bank pledged $480 million over four years to assist Yemen in meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The assistance would be used to finance fourteen development projects through the International Development Agency and the International Finance Corporation.[1]

• Tribal chiefs from Baqem, a district in Sa'ada province, and al-Jawf province have called for government reinforcements against the al-Houthi rebels. They warn that without a serious effort from the government, the rebels will gain control of the areas. Six rebels were killed during special operations in Sa'ada, according the Defense Ministry. Others were killed when they tried to set up a road block between Sa'ada and al-Jawf and during an attack on troops in positions surrounding the city.[2]

• President Hosni Mubarak decreed that Egypt would send humanitarian and medical assistance to Yemen to help those who had been displaced by the conflict in the north. Egypt plans to send a military plane carrying medical supplies and food stuffs to Sana'a.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• In Mogadishu, al-Shabaab publicly whipped women for wearing bras saying that it violates Islam "by constituting a deception." Al-Shabaab also publicly whipped men seen without beards. The group has instituted strict Shari'a law in areas that it controls and has "banned movies, musical ringtones, dancing at wedding ceremonies and playing or watching soccer."[4]

• Islamist militants in Mogadishu attacked AMISOM bases along Makka al-Mukarrama road connecting the presidential palace to the airport. Both sides used heavy machine guns and mortars during the fighting.[5]

• Fighting between al-Shabaab and Ahlu Sunna Waljamaa, a pro-government militia, killed at least twelve people and injured over twenty-two others in central Somalia. Local sources report that Ahlu Sunna is now in control of the contested villages in the Mataban district. A spokesman for Ahlu Sunna, Sheikh Abdirisak Ashari, informed reporters that Ahlu Sunna militants killed two al-Shabaab commanders.[6

• In Burdhuhle village in the Bakool region of southern Somalia, pro-government soldiers and al-Shabaab militants clashed after the soldiers launched an attack on al-Shabaab bases within the town. A government official, Aden Mohamed Saransor, claims that the soldiers took control over the town.[7]

• The Ministry of the Communities and Investment of the Transitional Federal Government has announced its disapproval of South African reports accusing Somalis of organizing terrorist attacks. South African papers allege that Somalis were preparing explosives with which to target the stadiums designed to host the 2010 World Cup.[8]

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