Gulf of Aden Security Review - March 8, 2013

Yemen: Security forces repel gunmen from “Tihami Movement” group attacking criminal investigation headquarters in al Hawak, al Hudaydah governorate; gunmen rob foreign exchange company in al Mukalla, Hadramawt; tribal gunmen clash in Sabir al Mawadim, Taiz governorate; President Hadi threatens tough measures against anyone trying to interfere with National Dialogue; Hassan Baoum and other Southern Movement leaders prevented from traveling to Dubai for Southern Movement-UN Meeting

Horn of Africa: Suspected al Shabaab militants shoot and kill a Kenyan police officer in Dadaab Refugee Camp; al Shabaab arrested eight Quranic teachers in Halgan, Hiraan region; Himan and Heeb reintegrates 320 former pirates into its security forces; ballot counting reaches fourth day in Kenyan elections

Yemen Security Brief

• Security forces repelled gunmen from a group calling themselves the “Tihami Movement,” who attempted to storm the criminal investigation headquarters and free four detainees in al Hawak, al Hudaydah governorate on March 8. The incident began on March 7, when the Yemeni Coast Guard clashed with gunmen after Coast Guard forces seized an Egyptian fishing vessel and detained the sailors aboard. After the incident, a Tihami Mobility element torched a police station in the district. One person was killed and more than 35 wounded, including six security forces, in the March 7 incident, and the March 8 clashes took place during the funeral of the deceased. The situation was defused after the district head agreed to release the four prisoners.[1]

• Gunmen robbed a foreign exchange company in al Mukalla, Hadramawt on March 7.[2]

• Tribal gunmen clashed in Sabir al Mawadim, Taiz governorate due to disagreements surrounding a water project on March 7. One militant was wounded in the incident.[3]

• President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi commented on the upcoming National Dialogue conference in a March 7 meeting with members of the Military Commission in Sana’a. He said that he would consider tough measures against anyone who tried to interfere with the dialogue process.[4]

• Yemeni authorities prevented Southern Movement leader Hassan Baoum, along with 25 other Southern Movement figures, from leaving for Dubai on March 8 to attend a March 9 meeting of Southern Movement leadership and UN officials. Sources claimed that the Southern Movement figures had not received the proper visas for traveling to Dubai.[5]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Unknown gunmen, thought to be linked to al Shabaab, shot and killed a Kenyan police officer in Dadaab Refugee Camp on March 6. Local police pursued the shooters, and after a brief firefight, apprehended two suspects. One of the captured shooters was seriously wounded.[6]

• Al Shabaab militants arrested eight Quranic teachers in Halgan, Hiraan region on March 8. The teachers were arrested after trying to set up a village administration, contrary to militant rules.[7]

• The Himan and Heeb administration announced that it had reintegrated 320 former pirates into its security forces in an effort curb piracy in the region.[8]

• Ballot counting in the Kenyan elections reached its fourth day on March 8, with the polls showing Uhuru Kenyatta in the lead and just shy of the 50% needed to forego a run-off in April.[9]