Gulf of Aden Security Review - June 10, 2013

Yemen: Police search for car bombs in Sana’a; protesters clash with security in front of National Security Agency; tribesmen clash with security in Sana’a; U.S. drone strike kills six; military withdraws from Mount al Tha’alib; gunmen attack security patrol; brigadier general survives assassination; al Houthis storm mosques in Sa’ada; gunmen kidnap boy for ransom

Horn of Africa: Clashes erupt in Kismayo, Lower Jubba region; Ahmed Madobe blames al Shabaab for fighting in Kismayo; residents flee Kismayo, government calls for an end to fighting; explosion occurs at church in Mombasa, Kenya; grenade attack targets hotel in Eastleigh, Nairobi; IED attack targets government officials in Daynile district, Mogadishu; clan fighting erupts outside Galkayo, Mudug region; loose grenade kills three kids in Mbalambala, Kenya; demonstrators in Mogadishu protest killings of Somali refugees in South Africa; Somalia joins Cotonou Agreement

Yemen Security Review

• Security forces hunted for car bombs linked to al Qaeda. A source in the security services told Barakish that al Qaeda planned to carry out an attack in Sana’a. A car bomb in Hadramawt killed one soldier and wounded three others.[1]

• Yemeni police killed two and wounded 30 when they shot at al Houthis protesting in front of the security agency headquarters in Sana'a. The protesters were demanding that the agency be shut down for abuses committed under former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.[2] 

• Two soldiers were killed and several tribesmen were wounded in clashes between followers of Sheikh Mohammad Ayad and security forces in Sana’a.[3]

• A U.S. drone strike killed six suspected al Qaeda members in Kadan, Jawf governorate on June 9.[4]

• The Yemeni military withdrew completely from Mount al Tha’alib, Qurayshiya directorate. The camp is one of the most important military sites because of its position overlooking al Manasah and Qifah.[5]

• Gunmen killed one civilian and wounded seven, mostly soldiers, after firing on a security patrol in Hajjah city.[6]

• Brigadier General Rakan Alawi Abad al Midma of the 35th Armored Brigade survived an assassination attempt in Wahija village, Taiz governorate. The attack wounded two officers.[7]

• Armed al Houthis stormed several mosques in Sa’ada without casualties.[8]

• Armed gunmen kidnapped a 14-year-old boy from outside his house in Sana’a on June 7. The boy’s father was the owner of one of the largest oil service companies in Yemen.[9]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Fighting broke out between two Jubbaland presidential contenders in Kismayo, Lower Jubba region on June 7 and 8. The battle started when Ahmed Madobe’s Ras Kamboni forces prevented Somali Defense Minister Abdihakim Mohamud Haji Fiqi from meeting with a presidential rival, Iftin Hassan Basto. Basto’s troops fought back against Madobe’s but were forced to retreat from the area. At least 18 people were killed in the fighting. Ahmed Madobe claimed his troops battled al Shabaab militants, not Iftin Hassan Basto’s troops, but those claims have not been corroborated. Hundreds of residents in Kismayo are fleeing the city in the aftermath of the clashes. The Somali president, prime minister, parliament and African Union representatives have all called for an end to the fighting..[10]

• An explosion targeted a church in Mombasa, Kenya on June 9. The source of the explosion was reported as either a grenade, or homemade petrol bomb, that was thrown from a passing motorbike. As many as 17 people were injured in the explosion and the resulting stampede. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.[11]

• A grenade attack targeted a hotel in the ethnic Somali neighborhood of Eastleigh, Nairobi on June 9. The grenade was thrown from a car, and the blast injured three people. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.[12]

• An improvised explosive device attack targeted a delegation of Mogadishu district commissioners in Daynile district, Mogadishu on June 8. None of the commissioners were injured, and two security officials were killed in the explosion. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.[13]

• Clan fighting erupted outside Galkayo, Mudug region on June 8. One person was killed and one was injured in the skirmish.[14]

• Three kids were killed when a grenade they were playing with exploded in Mbalambala, Kenya on June 9.[15]

• Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Mogadishu on June 9 to protest the recent wave of violence against Somalis living in South Africa.[16]

• The European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States granted Somalia admission to the Cotonou Agreement on June 7.[17]