Gulf of Aden Security Review - September 19, 2013

Yemen: Power lines blown up in Ma’rib; southern tribesmen kidnap northerner in Lahij; Southern Movement leader found beaten in Aden; New York to host Friends of Yemen conference; tribesmen cut off road in Lahij; tribesmen blow up oil pipeline in Ma’rib

Horn of Africa: Somali and AMISOM forces capture Mahaday district in Middle Shabelle region; Somali parliament speaker acknowledges support for regional administration merger; Somali security forces arrest Hizb al Islam official; Somaliland discusses renewed oil exploration; Uganda recalls 24 soldiers from Somalia allegedly involved in corruption

Yemen Security Brief

• Saboteurs used improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to blow up towers on the Ma’rib-Sana’a power line in al Dimashqa, Ma’rib governorate on September 19. An official said technical teams were still unable to repair the damage out of fear from other IEDs.[1]

• Southern tribesmen from Lab’aws, Lahij governorate kidnapped a citizen from the north on September 19. They demanded that the man’s tribe pay a large sum of money and drop a case pending in the commerce court within 24 hours or they would execute him.[2]

• Unknown gunmen kidnapped the leader of the Youth and Student Movement for Southern Freedom and Independence in Abyan on September 18. He was found in critical condition in an Aden suburb on the morning of September 19. Officials said he appeared to have been beaten and tortured.[3]

• New York will host the Friends of Yemen meeting on September 25. The delegation from Yemen will comprise the Minister of Foreign Affairs Abu Bakr al Qirbi, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Dr. Mohammad al Saadi, and a technical team. The meeting will review millennium development goals and reforms in the energy sectors and civil service.[4]

• Members of the Sabahi tribe blocked off the Aden-Lahij road with burning tires in Lahij on September 18. They were protesting against security forces who shot at tribe members trying to seize the construction and housing building the day before.[5]

• Tribesmen blew up a portion of the oil pipeline in Bidbadah, Ma’rib governorate with an IED on September 18. It was the fourth attack on the Ma’rib pipeline in three days.[6]

Horn of Africa Security Review

• Somali National Army forces and AMISOM troops retook the Mahaday district of Middle Shabelle region from al Shabaab militants on September 18.[7]

• Somali Parliament Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari stated the Somali Federal Government would support the merger of Bay and Bakool regions into a single state if local communities chose to do so, on September 18.[8]

• Somali forces arrested Foreign Secretary of Hizb al Islam Group Sheikh Mohamed Moalim on September 18.[9]

• The Somaliland government discussed resuming oil exploration with Genel Energy PLC, an oil exploration company, on September 18. The company previously suspended exploration due to security concerns.[10]

• Uganda recalled 24 soldiers in the AMISOM contingent from Somalia over allegations of corruption involving the sale of food and fuel designated for Ugandan troops, on September 19, 2013.[11]