Gulf of Aden Security Review - October 21, 2009

Yemen: President Ali Abdullah Saleh discussed security threats to Yemen; 52 al-Houthi rebels and six soldiers were killed in battle in Sa'ada province; Yemen turned over documentary evidence to Iran showing clerical involvement in northern conflict

Horn of Africa: Fighting broke out in Kismayo between al-Shabaab and Hizb al-Islam; al-Shabaab closed two radio stations in central Somalia; Somali military confirms that soldiers are being trained in Kenya and other nearby countries; the Ogaden National Liberation Front declared victory over Ethiopian government troops and denied the surrender of top leaders

Yemen Security Brief

• President Ali Abdullah Saleh asserted in a TV interview that the government will put an end to the al-Houthi rebellion in the north and listed offensive victories that have weakened the rebels.� Saleh justified the delay in putting down the rebellion by noting that the government wanted to avoid loss of life and destruction of property.� "Whenever we stop military operations and release their prisoners, they prepare themselves again for fighting," said Saleh.� Regarding the southern secession movement, the president said it is as not as much of a security threat to the state as the al-Qaeda network.� He added, however, that the al-Houthi rebels, the southern secessionists, and al-Qaeda do not have "one agenda, but have one target" - the state.[1]

• Fifty-two al-Houthi rebels and six soldiers were killed in battles throughout Sa'ada province.� Government troops also confiscated five cars laden with weapons and arrested nine rebels.� Local sources add that the six soldiers died from a misdirected air strike and that the rebels had killed two locals for refusing to allow the rebels to use their houses as barricades.[2]

• Yemeni government spokesman Hassan al-Lawzi revealed that authorities had handed over to Iran documents affirming Iranian clerical involvement in the northern conflict.� In the press conference, al-Lawzi said that the al-Houthi rebels used citizens as human shields and prevented them from fleeing to refugee camps.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Fighting has broken out between al-Shabaab and Hizb al-Islam in Kismayo, ending their truce.� Hizb al-Islam militants report that al-Shabaab attacked them from the surrounding villages.� Al-Shabaab claims that it came under attack and successfully repelled the Hizb al-Islam fighters.� Neither side gave a report on casualties.[4]

• Al-Shabaab has ordered the closure of two independent radio stations, Warsan and Jubba, based out of Baidoa in central Somalia.� Two weeks ago, al-Shabaab arrested some of the independent journalists, but later released them.� The group has also been accused of assassinating Somali journalists - six were killed so far this year.[5]

• General Hussein Yusuf Dhumal, the commander-in-chief of the Somali military confirmed that soldiers were undergoing training in Kenya for Somalia.� 1,500 soldiers are in Kenya, and there are more troops receiving training in Sudan, Uganda, Djibouti, Burundi, and Ethiopia.[6]

• The Ogaden National Liberation Front, ONLF, claims to have achieved victory over Ethiopian troops.� Hussein Mohamed Nor, the secretary of ONLF for information affairs denied the reports that some ONLF guerrilla officials surrendered.[7].

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