Gulf of Aden Security Review - November 6, 2013

Yemen: Radical sheikh calls for war against al Houthis in Sa’ada; security forces arrest AQAP militants in Hadramawt; foreigners killed in fighting in Sa’ada; clashes between al Houthi and AQAP prisoners in Sana’a; IED explodes in al Bayda; oil pipeline blown up in Shabwah; Ansar Allah representatives receive death threats

Horn of Africa: Ethiopian police prepare for possible terrorist attack; gunmen kill police officers in Mogadishu; gunmen kill NGO worker in Mogadishu; landmine explodes in Somaliland

Yemen Security Brief

• The Yemeni Cleric’s Commission, headed by radical cleric Sheikh Abdul Majed al Zindani, called for the state to wage a seventh war in Sa’ada against the al Houthis. The statement issued on November 2 also urged citizens to take up arms to fight the al Houthis if the state would not.[1]

• Security forces arrested four suspected al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants in Ghayl Bawazir, Hadramawt governorate on November 5. They were accused of participating in assassinations of security officers in the governorate.[2]

• Salafist spokesman Serour al Wadei said that among those killed by fighting in Damaj were French, Canadian, Russian, and “Asian” citizens. Twitter user Max B claimed that an American was among the dead as well.[3]

• Clashes broke out between al Houthi and AQAP prisoners at the central prison in Sana’a on November 5. Four al Houthi prisoners were wounded before security forces could control the situation.[4]

• An improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in a market in al Bayda city on November 6. Some reports have claimed there were three people injured while others reported there were no injuries. No group claimed responsibility, but al Bayda governorate has seen increasing AQAP activity.[5]

• Security services accused a man named Ahmad Nasser Saleh Shalil of blowing up the oil pipeline in Asilan, Shabwah governorate on November 5.[6]

• Representatives of the al Houthi political wing Ansar Allah in the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) received death threats.[7]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Ethiopian police are on high alert due to evidence that al Shabaab may be plotting an attack in Addis Ababa and other areas of the country. Al Shabaab promised attacks in Ethiopia as revenge for sending forces to Somalia, and two Somalis prematurely blew themselves up preparing for an attack on a soccer game three weeks ago.[8]

• Gunmen shot and killed three police officers in two separate incidents in Bakara Market, Mogadishu on November 5. It is unclear who the attackers were and if the two incidents were related.[9]

• Gunmen shot and killed an employee of a human rights organization in Wadajir district, Mogadishu on November 4.[10]

• A landmine killed one person in the town of Burao, October district of Toghdeer region in Somaliland on November 4.[11]