Gulf of Aden Security Review - April 28, 2011

Yemen: Clashes in Sana’a kill 12 people; JMP threatens to withdraw from agreement following violence; EU foreign policy chief urges finalized agreement

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab communiqué claims raid on munitions caches; 36 people killed in Gedo clash; Yusuf Mohammed Siad reiterates TFG commitment to drive out al Shabaab; tribal clash in Galkayo kills one person; Galmudug security arrests alleged gang-members

Yemen Security Brief

• At least 12 people were killed and over 190 were injured in clashes between protestors and security forces in Sana'a. Republican Guard units and gunmen stationed on rooftops reportedly opened fire when demonstrators marched to the state-run television station, Yemen TV. Anti-government protestors reportedly responded by attacking cars and a stadium occupied by pro-government demonstrators. Protestors were reportedly throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. Yemen Posts reported that Republican Guard units detained at least 85 protestors after the clash. In Lahij, four protestors were injured when security forces fired on an anti-government demonstration.[1]

• Yemen's opposition bloc, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), issued a statement warning President Ali Abdullah Saleh against employing violence against protestors: "In the event of your inability to protect protesters, we will find ourselves unable to pursue an agreement that the regime seeks to use to shed more blood."[2]

• Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, welcomed the GCC’s transition plan and urged a rapid resolution to the crisis: “I believe that the GCC initiative represents the best chance for Yemen to address the economic, social and security challenges ahead, and to avoid escalation of violence. I urge all parties to move quickly to finalise the agreement, and to work together for the benefit of all Yemeni people."[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab claimed to have captured munitions caches in Dhusamareb, according to a communiqué it released on jihadist forums. The group claimed to have attacked Ahlu Sunna wa ala Jama’a fighters on April 22 in Dhusamareb and to have captured Ethiopian-supplied weapons and ammunitions. Al Shabaab militants also took three military vehicles in the raid.[4]

• Transitional Federal Government (TFG) troops clashed with al Shabaab militants in Tulo-Barwaqo, a village in the Gedo region. Mohammed Abdi Kalil, the TFG governor in Gedo, reported that at least 36 al Shabaab militants were killed. He added that the TFG would attempt to capture the provincial capital of the Gedo region “as soon as possible.”[5]

• General Yusuf Mohammed Siad, also known as Indha Adde, who is a former warlord and Defense Minister for the TFG, reiterated the TFG’s commitment to driving al Shabaab out of Somalia. He claimed that al Shabaab is currently weak. Siad also warned residents of Mogadishu that al Shabaab may have planted roadside bombs in the city.[6]

• One person was killed and six others were injured in a clash between two tribes in Galkayo. In an unrelated incident, unidentified gunmen reportedly assassinated Sheikh Ibrahim, a prominent Islamic cleric from the Bay and Bakool regions, and an Oromo Ethiopian cleric. Puntland's administration in the Mudug region imposed a curfew on Galkayo in response to the rising violence.[7]

• Galmudug security forces arrested seven alleged gang-members. They are accused of robbing buses traveling between Galkayo and other parts of the Mudug region.[8]