Gulf of Aden Security Review - October 22, 2010

Yemen: Ten people arrested in Sana’a for spreading jihadist ideology

Horn of Africa: 20 dead and 12 injured in fighting between TFG and al Shabaab troops in Beled Hawo; al Shabaab attack on AMISOM base in Mogadishu leaves one dead, five injured; Puntland troops seize insurgent outpost in Bari region; UN Security Council asks for more information concerning increase in AMISOM troops; al Shabaab troops parade through Mogadishu, promise revenge for Sheikh Yazid; UN will continue “light footprint” approach in Somalia; al Shabaab forcing Kismayo port workers to participate in militia training; 2 killed, 8 injured in Puntland gunfight

Yemen Security Brief

• Ten people, including five Pakistanis, were arrested in Sana’a for spreading jihadist ideology.  The suspects were arrested at a mosque in Dhula’a Hamdan district while preaching their extremist ideas.[1]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Fighting between TFG troops and al Shabaab in Beled Hawo district in southern Somalia has left 20 people dead and 12 injured.  Colonel Barre Shire reported that TFG troops defeated al Shabaab, who was trying to recapture the town from the government forces.[2]

• An al Shabaab attack on the AMISOM base in Bondhere district in Mogadishu triggered a response from TFG forces that left one civilian dead and five injured.  One resident said, “It was heavy fighting.  We could hear the sound of bullets and weapons whole night.  Now there is no fighting.  The situation is normal, but I can tell you there are casualties indeed.”[3]

• Puntland troops have seized an insurgent outpost in Bari region of northern Somalia, General Saeed Dheere reported in a press conference.  Dheere’s forces seized Dhagah Barur, Dhagahdheer, and Dindigle, al Shabaab’s “last outpost” in the Galgala region, according to Dheere.[4]

• In a meeting of the UN Security Council in Thursday participating nations voiced support for an increase in AMISOM troops to 20,000, but asked the AU to provide more information first.  A diplomat said, “We need to have more concrete information.  They have been told to go back and justify what they are saying.”  AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra conceded that the AU request to impose a no-fly zone over Somalia was unlikely to be implemented in the near future.[5]

• Thousands of al Shabaab troops paraded through Mogadishu to show their intention to defeat the TFG and AU forces in Somalia.  Senior al Shabaab leader Mukhtar Robow Ali, also known as Abu Mansur, claimed al Shabaab would fight to avenge the death of Sheikh Mukhtar Abu Yazid, who was killed by the Americans in Afghanistan, saying “[I] am sending a message to Americans you are enemies of Islam and these fighters are ready to battle you.”[6]

• UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon told the UN Security Council that the UN is working to strengthen Somali ministries, improve security, and encourage reconciliation in Somalia.  He said, “In each of these areas, the United Nations will continue its “light footprint” approach in order to be closer to the Somali people and authorities.”  The Secretary General said he will propose to the Security Council plans for an integrated UN operation in Somalia in the coming months.[7]

• Workers at the al Shabaab-controlled port in Kismayo are being ordered to attend militia training.  Shabaab official Hasan Yakub Ali said the laborers need to be able to protect the port in the event that it is attacked.  Yakub threatened the workers, saying that those that do not undergo the militia training will not be permitted to work at the port.[8]

• At least 2 people were killed and 8 others injured Galkayo in Puntland on Thursday.  The clash began when Puntland security forces opened fire on armed men in a car who failed to stop at a checkpoint.  The armed men escaped and their identity remains unclear.[9]