Gulf of Aden Security Review - September 30, 2009

Yemen: Al-Qaeda's Yemeni wing looks for financial support in Saudi Arabia; two wanted Saudi militants killed in fighting in the north; southern clashes in al-Dale and Lahj provinces leave nineteen injured; Saudi Arabia gives $2 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen

Horn of Africa: Residents of Kismayo flee impending violence after al-Shabaab declares war on Hizb al-Islam; government troops withdraw from recently re-occupied Beledweyne; military spokesman asserts that AU peacekeeping forces are not behind the shelling of Mogadishu bazaar; IDP's protest closure of WFP feeding centers in Bosaso

Yemen Security Brief

• Yemen's al-Qaeda wing has begun a campaign in Saudi Arabia for donations to fund its fight against Sana'a.� Al-Arabiya television aired a video of a Saudi member of al-Qaeda petitioning others to donate money to support militants in Yemen.[1]

• Two wanted Saudi militants were killed in clashes between government forces and al-Houthi rebels in Sa'ada.� One of the two, Fahad Saleh al-Jotaili, left Saudi Arabia eight years ago for Afghanistan, where he was arrested and moved to Guantanamo Bay.� He returned to Saudi Arabia three years ago.� The other is still unidentified.[2]

• Clashes between security forces and protestors in al-Dale and Lahj provinces in south Yemen left nineteen people injured.� The protestors were demanding the release of detainees from previous anti-government demonstrations.� Eyewitnesses report that the security forces used live bullets and smoke bombs to break-up the protest.[3]

• Saudi Arabia has given $2 million in aid for the internally displaced persons in the north of Yemen.� Abdul Karim Ras'a, Yemen's Minister of Health and Population, added that Yemen and Saudi Arabia have entered into talks regarding the establishment of an IDP camp at the Alib crossing.� At the UNHCR meetings in Geneva, international relief agencies asked for $23 million in aid to help ameliorate the humanitarian conditions in the war-torn country.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Residents are fleeing Kismayo after al-Shabaab has declared war on Hizb al-Islam over control of the southern port-city.� Sheikh Hassan Yakub, an al-Shabaab spokesman, said that "it is jihad" because Hizb al-Islam "brought back all of the evil acts."� In a return statement, Hizb al-Islam said that it had asked al-Shabaab to depart peacefully, but that if necessary, the group will fight al-Shabaab everywhere in the country.[5]

• Government troops have reportedly withdrawn from the border town of Beledweyne, over which they had just regained controlled.� Reports say that government troops are headed to Elgal village, about 15 km south of the town, which used to be a base for government troops in Hiraan.� The movement of more heavily armed fighters led by Beledweyne Governor Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, who recently declared his allegiance to Hizb al-Islam, may be the reason for the retreat of government troops.[6]

• Following rumors that the shelling of the Bakara market in Mogadishu was carried out by the AU peacekeeping forces, a Somali military spokesman, Farhan Mahdi Mahmoud, held a press conference to deny AU involvement.� In an official statement, he said that AU troops do not shell anywhere within the capital, but that they defend themselves if attacked.� He also strongly condemned the public executions carried out by al-Shabaab militants, adding that one of the men was mentally ill.[7]

• A mass-demonstration took place in Bosaso, which is a town in Puntland, against the World Food Program's announced closure of its feeding centers.� Many of the demonstrators were internally displaced persons from southern Somalia, who rely on WFP feeding centers to survive.� Budget cuts have forced the WFP to close down many of its operations in the Horn of Africa even though residents are facing one of the most severe droughts in recent history.[8]

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