Gulf of Aden Security Review - November 5, 2009

Yemen: Saudi Arabia strikes rebel positions after a firefight with al Houthi rebels along Saudi-Yemeni border kills two Saudi security men; al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claims responsibility for ambush in Hadramawt province; publication of  independent weekly newspaper suspended; Members of Parliament seek vote of no-confidence

Horn of Africa: Ahlu Sunna Waljamaa convenes in Nairobi to discuss strategy against al Shabaab; blasts reported in two police stations in Bosasso, Puntland; Mogadishu port reopens; Somali pirates take three hostages from Spanish ship demanding that Spain release the two pirates in its custody

Yemen Security Brief

• The Saudi Air Force hit rebel strongholds in northern Yemen in retaliation for the death of two Saudi security men who died following a firefight with al Houthi rebels.  Saudi government officials report that Tornado and F-15 warplanes bombarded a border area inside Saudi Arabia that the rebels had recently seized.  Officials added that the area is back under Saudi control, and that at least forty rebels had been killed.  Another Saudi official confirmed that the air force also hit targets in Yemen, including in Sa’ada.  In addition, Saudi army units and special forces were sent to northern Yemen, and many of the border towns have been evacuated.  Yemeni officials deny that Saudi Arabia hit any targets inside Yemen.[1]

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for the ambush in Hadramawt province that killed three senior security officers earlier in the week.  A statement from the group said that the attack was “in support of our brothers in the prisons of Hadramawt, Sana’a and others and in revenge for anyone who has the intention of harming the mujahideen.”[2]

• The Ministry of Information suspended the independent weekly newspaper Al-Masdar on Tuesday, four days after the Court of Press and Publications sentenced the paper’s editor and a U.S.-based Yemeni journalist for libel. The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate has met with the Minister of Justice, Ghazi al Aghbary, to discuss the sentences and the suspension. [3]

• Some Members of Parliament have labeled the government “corrupt and failed” and have demanded to withdraw confidence from it.  In a session on electricity shortages in Yemen, MPs accused those who buy electricity from outside sources of causing the Mar’ib gas facility to fail.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Ahlu Sunna Waljamaa, a Sufi Islamist group aligned with the Transitional Federal Government, held a conference in Nairobi to strategize a response to al Shabaab.  Mohamed Ahmed Alin, who was recently appointed president of the semiautonomous Galmudug in central Somalia, said that with cooperation, infrastructure and military support, and training of troops, al Shabaab could be “eliminated from most of the country.”  Ahlu Sunna Waljamaa took up arms last year after al Shabaab began desecrating Sufi holy sites.[5]

• In Bosasso in Puntland, witnesses report that explosions occurred at two police stations.  Puntland police forces have recently been arresting people from Ogaden, an ethnically Somali region of Ethiopia.[6]

• The Mogadishu port has resumed operations following the resolution of a dispute between the port administration and businessmen.  A new rule required all goods to go through security; now, however, only some goods will go through security checks.[7]

• Somali pirates report that they have taken three hostages from a Spanish vessel and might hand them over to the families of the two pirates held by Spain.  Pirates have said that they will not negotiate ransoms until Spain releases the two pirates in its custody, who currently face charges of terrorism and robbery.[8]