Gulf of Aden Security Review - May 17, 2010

Yemen: AQAP warns U.S. against killing Anwar al Awlaki; separatists kill soldier in convoy ambush; government releases 19 separatists after pledging commitment to Yemeni unity; Yemen searching for two kidnapped Chinese oil workers

Horn of Africa: Militants attack parliament, kill at least 20 in Mogadishu; Somali president says he will appoint new PM, government; Somali speaker of parliament resigns; al Shabaab militants execute man convicted of spying for TFG; gunmen kill driver contracted by UN World Food Program

Yemen Security Brief

• AQAP posted an audio tape on its website Sunday threatening the United States over its attempts to kill the U.S.-born cleric Anwar al Awlaki. The group’s leader, Nasser al Wahayshi, praised the Awlak tribe for protecting the cleric and promised that AQAP militants would do the same.[1]

• Southern separatist militants killed one Yemeni soldier and wounded several others in a convoy ambush Saturday in the Lahij province. Authorities have closed the road.[2]

• The Yemeni government released 19 members of the separatist movement after they pledged in a petition to President Saleh that they would support the country’s unity.[3]

• Two Chinese oil men were kidnapped Sunday in Yemen’s Shabwa region with two Yemeni coworkers. The Yemeni government launched efforts in response to rescue the workers, who were taken by the Laqmoosh tribe after police killed a tribesman at a checkpoint.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Militants launched mortar attacks in Mogadishu after the Somali parliament began its session Sunday, killing at least 20 and wounding 60. Most of the casualties were civilians caught in the crossfire in the Bakara Market.[5]

• Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed announced Monday that he would appoint a new prime minister, who in turn would help form a new government. The parliament must now decide whether to accept the president’s decision and allow him to implement it.[6]

• The speaker of the Somali parliament, Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur Madobe, announced his resignation Monday during the president’s press conference.  The acting speaker is now Haji Shukri Sheikh Ahmed.[7]

• Al Shabaab militants executed a man in the Deynile district in Mogadishu after an ad hoc shari’a court convicted him of spying for the TFG.[8]

• Three gunmen killed a contracted driver outside of Galkayo who was working for the UN World Food Program in alleged clan-related violence.[9]