Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: AQAP attacks military camp in Abyan; al Houthis shell Damaj; security forces arrest soldiers cooperating with AQAP in al Bayda; court sentences AQAP members

Horn of Africa: Somali President Mohamud meets with Jubba officials; Iranian and Somali officials discuss strengthening ties

Yemen Security Brief

• Four Yemeni soldiers died in an attack by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) on a camp in Ahwar, Abyan governorate on October 31. The gunmen fled to al Mahfad district.[1]

• Al Houthis continued shelling Damaj for the second day in a row on October 31. The attack targeted the house of a spokesman for the Sons of Damaj. Three people died, including children. Sources report that al Houthi shelling has killed over thirty people.[2]

• Security forces arrested seven government soldiers and officers in al Bayda governorate on October 29 for connections to AQAP. Residents of al Rada’a city have reported witnessing security forces cooperating with AQAP militants.[3]

• On October 31 the Criminal Court of the First Instance in Sana’a sentenced ten AQAP members to jail for participation in attacks on government facilities from 2010-2012. The sentences ranged from two to seven years.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met with Jubba Interim Administration leaders to discuss implementation of the Addis Ababa Accords in Kismayo, Lower Jubba region on October 31.[5]

• Alaeddin Boroujerdi, Chairman for the Committee for Foreign Policy and National Security of the Islamic Consultive Assembly of Iran, met with delegation of Somali parliamentarians led by Cabdalle Boss Axmed in Mogadishu on October 30 to discuss strengthening ties between the two countries.[6]