Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Six Somalis arrested in Taiz province, one of whom may have al-Qaeda ties; Iranian embassy asserts that ship seized by Yemen authorities empty; bomb detonated in mosque in central Yemen kills one, wounds five; swine flu cases reach 1,618

Horn of Africa: Forces from Puntland and Somaliland clash in Elbuh in Sanaag region in northern Somalia; Somalia's Prime Minister warns that al-Qaeda presence in Somalia threatens regional stability; Somalia Ambassador to Uganda says al-Shabaab lacks the capacity to carry out attacks on Kampala; yacht of British couple found, but they are still missing

Yemen Security Brief  

• In Mokha, in the Taiz province, Yemen arrested six Somalis. Nur Omar Warsamah, one of the six, may have links to al-Qaeda, according to an announcement by the Interior Ministry. It is unclear what led to the arrests, but it is not uncommon for refugees to be interrogated by authorities.[1]

• The Iranian embassy in Yemen has stated that the Iranian ship seized off the coast was empty. The Interior Ministry reported that the "ship was seized for illegally entering the country's territorial waters." Yemeni officials have declined to comment on whether the ship was loaded with weapons, which was reported by local sources.[2]

• In the city of Rada'a in Baidha province, a man detonated a bomb inside a central mosque, killing one and wounding five others. According to a local source, the youths targeted by the attack were responsible for combating crimes in the area.[3]

• The number of cases of swine flu continues to rise in Yemen. Official reports now state that there are 1,618 cases and at least 16 recorded deaths from the virus. Cases of H1N1 have been found in schools in Aden, Hajjah, Amran, Ibb, Dhamar, and Sana'a, and some schools have been closed because of this.[4]

  Horn of Africa Security Brief  

• Forces of the semiautonomous region of Puntland and the breakaway republic of Somaliland clashed in the town of Elbuh in Sanaag region in northern Somalia according to witnesses. The fighting reportedly broke out after a delegation from Somaliland reached the town, where Puntland soldiers were based. This is not the first time the two have fought — Somaliland and Puntland have disputed land since the establishment of the Puntland administration in 1998.[5]

• Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, the Prime Minister of Somalia, warned in a speech at Chatham House in London that al-Qaeda's use of Somalia to train and plan attacks threatens regional stability. He added that Somalia risked becoming like Afghanistan in the 1990's.[6]

• The Somali Ambassador to Uganda, Sayid Ahmed Sheikh Dahir, stated that al-Shabaab lacked the capabilities to carry out attacks on Kampala. He added that despite al-Shabaab's limited capacity, Uganda and Burundi -- both of which support the AU mission in Somalia – were not taking al-Shabaab's recent threats against them lightly. Dahir also criticized the Somali media, accusing it of misinforming the public by saying that Ugandan security forces had targeted the Somali community.[7]

• The British navy found the yacht belonging to the British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, in international waters; however, the pair was not onboard and is believed to have been transferred to another boat by pirates. Most recently, Somali pirates captured a Thai fishing boat north of the Seychelles Islands, which brings the total number of ships held by pirates to eight – four seized over the past two weeks.[8]