Gulf of Aden Security Review - November 20, 2013

Yemen: AQAP and security forces clash in Hadramawt; gunmen kidnap soldier in al Dhaleh; Jamal Benomar confirms extension of transitional president; al Houthis prevent mediation committee from entering Damaj

Horn of Africa: Somali Prime Minister says security is top concern; Former Somali president demands an end to ongoing political rift; Ethiopia trains one thousand Somali soldiers

Yemen Security Brief

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants attacked police searching houses near where they were hiding in Shihr, Hadramawt governorate on November 20. The clashes killed three police officers and three militants, including Muhammad al Masbahi, the Special Forces chief of staff. Security forces arrested several female militants believed to be Saudi nationals.[1]

• Gunmen kidnapped an unknown soldier of the 33rd Armored Brigade in al Dhaleh city on November 20.[2]

• UN Envoy Jamal Benomar confirmed that President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s term will be extended if the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) does not reach a conclusion on time. The General People’s Congress (GPC), the party headed by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and opposes extending Hadi’s term even though Hadi is also a member of the party.[3]

• Salafist spokesmen in Damaj, Serour al Wadei said on November 20 that the al Houthis prevented the presidential and parliamentary mediation committees from Damaj, Sa’ada governorate. He said al Houthis continued shelling the area with heavy artillery, killing at least twenty people. Al  Wadei claimed the al Houthis planned to storm Damaj and massacre the Salafists.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon emphasized that security remains the top priority for the federal government on November 20.[5]

• Former Somali President of the Transitional National Government Abdiqasim Salad Hassan called on President Hassan Sheik Mohamud and Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon to resolve the ongoing political dispute on November 19.[6]

• One thousand Somali soldiers completed training directed by Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu on November 17.[7]