Gulf of Aden Security Review - May 2, 2013

Yemen: Yemeni military interdicts boat smuggling weapons off the coast of Taiz governorate; Abyani military and security forces monitor boat suspected of carrying weapons for AQAP; Yemeni military delegation visits the U.S.; al Houthi delegation sent to mediate between tribes in Khawlan district, Sana’a governorate; Yemeni National Security Bureau discovers plot to overthrow President Hadi

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab launches attack on Somali and AMISOM bases at Kismayo airport, Lower Jubba region; Mogadishu roads are closed for third day; Somali troops arrest three suspected al Shabaab militants in Wanlaweyn, Lower Shabelle region; government removes roadblocks in Lower Shabelle region; Somali president addresses Somali Parliament in Mogadishu; AMISOM soldiers shut down radio station in Beledweyne, Hiraan region; Ethiopian foreign minister meets with U.S. secretary of state in Washington, D.C.; al Shabaab terror suspects on trial in Brooklyn, New York had links to two American-born suicide bombers in Somalia

Yemen Security Brief

• The 17th Infantry Brigade interdicted a boat in the Mandab Strait smuggling weapons on May 2. The soldiers clashed with the crew after boarding the boat, which was seized off the coast of Taiz governorate. According to a report, Yemeni authorities received information about plans to smuggle weapons into the country and heightened coastal security in response.[1]

• Military and security forces in Abyan governorate are reportedly tracking a ship carrying weapons destined for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).[2]

• A Yemeni military delegation, led by Deputy Interior Minister Ali Nasser Lakhsha’, is currently visiting Washington, D.C. to meet with U.S. defense officials. The delegation met with Michael Sheehan, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, on May 2.[3]

• A 500-person al Houthi delegation, led by prominent al Houthi leader Mubarak al Meshn al Zaydi, was sent to Khawlan district, Sana’a governorate on May 2 to mediate between tribesmen from Bani Dabyan and Bani Hushaysh. The tribes have been clashing since four Bani Dabyan tribesmen were killed last year.[4]

• The Yemeni National Security Bureau has discovered a plot to overthrow President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, according to a report published on May 2, although the details have not been released. Several people have been arrested in connection with the plot.[5]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab launched an attack on a Somali and AMISOM base at Kismayo airport, Lower Jubba region on May 1. The al Shabaab militants used mortars to attack the bases but were quickly repelled by Somali and AMISOM forces. Casualties from the incident are not known.[6]

• Roads throughout Mogadishu are closed for the third day in a row on May 2 due to concerns over a possible terrorist attack.[7]

• Somali troops arrested three suspected al Shabaab militants in Wanlaweyn, Lower Shabelle region on April 30.[8]

• The governor of Lower Shabelle region announced on May 1 that his administration was successful in removing most of the illegal roadblocks in the region, and will continue to eradicate the remaining impediments.[9]

• Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud addressed the Somali Parliament in Mogadishu on May 2. During his speech he addressed the upcoming London conference, as well as the acceptable way to create regional governments for the Jubba and Gedo regions.[10]

• AMISOM officials shut down the radio station Mustaqbal in Beledweyne, Hiraan region on May 1. AMISOM troops arrested both the director and the editor of the radio station.[11]

• Ethiopian Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, D.C. on May 2 to discuss ongoing security concerns in the Horn of Africa.[12]

• Three Somali terror suspects currently being tried in Brooklyn, New York were found to have links to two Minnesota-born suicide bombers who carried out attacks in Somalia in 2008 and 2011.[13]