Gulf of Aden Security Review - July 6, 2010

Yemen: Al Houthi truce frays, two sides prepare for war; two security officers killed in shootout with al Qaeda suspects; al Houthi rebels kill three in attack on home of tribal leader; Southern Movement calls for “day of rage” demonstrations; gunman killed in east Yemen shootout; AQAP suspects arrested over officer’s death; terrorist suspects set fire to power plant

Horn of Africa: TFG offensive continues in Mogadishu, claims it has secured northern district; East African bloc pledges support, 2,000 more troops for AMISOM; Somali PM reshuffles cabinet, Ahlu Sunna wa al Jama’a rejects appointments; clash between al Shabaab, Hizb al Islam kills eight in Mogadishu; Puntland governor says landmine targeted him; Somaliland president-elect seeks international recognition

Yemen Security Brief

• The government and al Houthi rebels exchanged accusations over the weekend that each side was preparing for war with the other, straining an already fragile truce between the two parties.[1]

• Two security officers were killed in the southern town of Mukalla in Hadramawt province in a shootout after attempting to surround the home of suspected al Qaeda militants.  The militants reportedly escaped.[2]

• Al Houthi rebels attacked the home of Ibn Aziz, a pro-government tribal leader, in the Harf Sufyan district of Amran province on Friday killing three of his followers.[3]

• Southern Movement leaders called for “a day of rage” this Wednesday in Aden to mark the 16th anniversary of the invasion of the south by northern forces.[4]

• Security forces killed a gunman after coming under fire from a car in the eastern province of Shabwa, an al Qaeda stronghold, the government said today.[5]

• Authorities arrested four individuals, including two AQAP suspects, over the drive-by shooting of a senior intelligence officer last week in Abyan province.[6]

• Southern Movement separatists reportedly set fire to a power plant in Hadramawt province Sunday causing locals to lose electricity.[7]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Fighting in Mogadishu between TFG forces and al Shabaab militants continued through the weekend, killing 15 people and wounding 22 others on Monday. The clashes occurred in several northern districts of the capital and the TFG claims it has completely secured Shibis district.[8]

• An East African bloc called the Inter-Government Authority on Development pledged additional assistance to the TFG with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in attendance at its meeting in Addis Ababa. The group’s plan will increase AMISOM’s troop deployment to the country by 2,000 within the next few weeks and seek an expansion of AMISOM’s UN mandate.  Ugandan deputy foreign minister said that it would send more troops “only if the mandate is changed such that we can go after al-Shabab.”[9]

• Somali PM Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke reshuffled his cabinet Saturday, appointing mostly new candidates, including several posts for Ahlu Sunna wa al Jama’a members. However, Ahlu Sunna insisted the appointments are unsatisfactory and its power-sharing deal with the TFG is dead.[10]

• Al Shabaab militants ambushed those of Hizb al Islam in Mogadishu Monday, sparking a clash that killed eight people.[11]

• Puntland’s governor of Bari region said the landmine that blew up his car and killed two of his security guards in Boosaaso was a deliberate assassination attempt, but he was not in the car when it exploded.[12]

• Somaliland’s president-elect, Ahmed Mohamud Silanyo, vowed to press for international recognition of the republic.  He said, “The world must recognize our democracy.”  Silaanyo’s is the second democratic transfer of power in Somaliland since independence in 1991.[13]