Yemen: Yemeni army continues offensive against al Houthi rebels in Sa’ada and Harf Sufyan; Yemen’s main opposition bloc calls for national dialogue to end northern conflict; security forces arrest ten in Abyan governorate; clashes between locals and security forces in Taiz governorate occur; 50 kilos of drugs seized in Hodeida governorate
Horn of Africa: Gunmen assassinate two officials in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland; Djibouti forcibly relocates Somali refugees to Mogadishu; Spain calls for EU naval blockade of three Somali ports; Somali Transitional Government officials report cargo ship taken by pirates was carrying weapons; the Ethiopian Ogaden National Liberation Front claims victory in clashes with Ethiopian troops
Yemen Security Brief
The Yemeni army continues to apply pressure on the al Houthi rebels in Sa’ada and Harf Sufyan. Government forces launched attacks on al Houthi rebels near the Qumash region and attacked three al Houthi trucks in Sabehla. Other rebels have been captured while trying to enter other regions of the country. In Sa’ada, local sources confirm the deaths of four al Houthi rebels and report that others died during clashes with citizens in Qatabar.[1]
Yemen’s main opposition bloc, the Joint Meeting Parties, announced its “National Salvation Vision,” which calls for a national dialogue to end the northern conflict. In addition, the JMP has said that Saudi Arabia’s entry to the conflict has opened the door for other countries to become involved, and that instead, Saudi Arabia should work to mediate the conflict.[2]
Security forces arrested ten people in Abyan governorate, seven of whom are suspected al Qaeda members. Samih Ahmed Awadh al Hulbah, one of the al Qaeda suspects, was arrested while attempting to flee Yemen. The other three arrested are wanted for acts of sabotage or for membership in other terrorist organizations.[3]
Local sources report clashes in Taiz governorate between people primarily from the Sharab district and security forces. Unconfirmed reports say that one man was killed and another injured by a policeman.[4]
In Hodeida, Yemen’s northwestern coastal province, authorities seized 50 kilos of drugs from two cars in al Zohrah district of Hodeida. A source reported that this smuggling operation was one of the biggest operations in al Oahaia and Midi, two ports in Hodeida frequently used to smuggle drugs, weapons, and other materials.[5]
Horn of Africa Security Brief
Armed gunmen assassinated two officials in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in the port-city of Bosasso and the inland city of Garowe. In Bosasso, local sources report that Sheikh Mohamed Abdi Aware, a judge and a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, which supervises the judiciary and nominates judicial officials, was shot in the head and chest as he left a mosque on Thursday. Aware has jailed pirates and members of al Shabaab. Ibrahim Elmi Warsame, a local Member of Parliament, was killed Wednesday in a tea shop.[6]
The UN refugee agency reported that Djibouti has refused over forty Somali asylum applicants and forced the refugees to board a plane back to Mogadishu on Tuesday. The Somalis had been rescued by a Dutch naval ship after their boat’s engine failed en route to Yemen and were brought to Djibouti. The UNHCR has expressed concern over the refusal of Djibouti to admit the refugees and the lack of concern for their safety in Mogadishu.[7]
Spain has called for EU naval forces to blockade the three Somali ports used by pirates to launch attacks. The recent attacks on vessels over 1,000 nautical miles off the Somali coast demonstrate that increased security along the Somali coastline has shifted the pirate attacks to shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe. Pirates now use “mother ships” to sail out to sea and from there, launch attacks from smaller skiffs, using high-grade weapons like RPGs.[8]
On Wednesday, an anti-piracy official from Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government said that the cargo ship taken by Somali pirates was carrying weapons. Earlier, the ship had been reported as U.A.E.-flagged because it sailed from Dubai, but it is actually Panama-flagged. The trader who owns much of the cargo aboard the ship denied the presence of arms aboard; however, he would not comment on why it took the vessel two weeks to reach Mogadishu from Ajman port in Dubai.[9]
Abdukadir Hassan Hirmoge, the deputy chairman of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, claimed victory over Ethiopian government forces in Dudume Adde and Dufan, adding that the ONLF took over military bases. The ONLF has accused Ethiopians of committing crimes against humanity in the ethnically Somali region of Ogaden.[10]