Gulf of Aden Security Review - June 28, 2013

Yemen: Tsarnaev indictment shows he read material from Anwar al Awlaki; al Houthis deny rumors of conflict with Salafists in Sa’ada; tribal clash in Sana’a kills two; Turkey will send military advisors to Yemen; gang leader killed in Ibb; gang arrested in Dhamar; appointment of assistant undersecretary for Amran governorate

Horn of Africa: Somali government to make a deal with self-declared Jubbaland president Ahmed Madobe; Hassan Dahir Aweys refuses to leave Adado, Mudug region for Mogadishu; al Shabaab attack Kismayo airport, Lower Jubba region; UN Under-Secretary-General travels to Mogadishu

Yemen Security Brief

• A Massachusetts grand jury indicted Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on 30 counts on June 27. The indictment indicates that he downloaded a book with a forward by radical Yemeni cleric Anwar al Awlaki directing Muslims to resist governments that invade Muslim lands.[1]

• A spokesman for the al Houthis said that there is no conflict between the al Houthis and Salafists in Sa’ada. He said that the clashes over the past few days have been with unknown militants.[2]

• Two died in tribal clashes near President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s house on June 27. The clash, involving a tribe from Ma’rib, was about a land dispute.[3]

• The Turkish ambassador to Yemen said that his country will send  military advisors to Yemen during a meeting with the Yemeni minister of defense on June 27.[4]

• A gang killed a man in Dhi al Safal, Ibb governorate while trying to steal his car on June 28. Security forces arrived and shot the leader of the gang and arrested two members.[5]

• Security forces in Dhi Yaj, Dhamar governorate arrested members of a gang specializing in stealing telephone cables on June 28. The gang planned to sell copper from the telephone cables on the black market.[6]

• Saleh Mohammed Ayshan was appointed assistant undersecretary for Amran governorate on June 27.[7]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Reuters reported that the Somali federal government is preparing to accept Ahmed Madobe’s Jubbaland administration in Kismayo, Lower Jubba region. Somali government officials have said that they could make a deal to create a Jubbaland administration but did not name who could serve as its leader. Several Somali government officials are in Kismayo for talks with local leaders.[8]

• Reportedly defected al Shabaab leader Hassan Dahir Aweys refused to be taken from Adado, Mudug region to Mogadishu despite orders from Somali government officials. Some sources are reporting that he is currently in the custody of the Himan and Heeb administration. Other sources indicate that he and several clan fighters voluntarily traveled to Adado to make a peace agreement. The Mudug regional governor stressed that leaders in the Himan and Heeb administration should turn over Aweys to the federal government.[9]

• Al Shabaab militants fired heavy artillery at the Kismayo airport, Lower Jubba region on June 26. Kenyan troops responded by firing mortars at suspected al Shabaab locations. Casualties from the attack are not known.[10]

• United Nations Under-Secretary-General Jeffrey Feltman traveled to Mogadishu on June 27 in order to show his support for Somalia’s recovery.[11]