Gulf of Aden Security Review - March 6, 2014

Yemen: AQAP executed member accused of spying in Hadramawt; gunmen assassinate intelligence official in Sana’a; authorities ask UN to delay trip to al Dhaleh

Horn of Africa: Ethiopian and Somali forces seize town from al Shabaab in Bakool region; Somali military clashes with regional police in Bay region

Yemen Security Brief

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants executed a man accused of spying for the U.S. in al Shihr in Hadramawt governorate on March 6. The man had been a member of AQAP. His body was hung publicly as a warning and AQAP fliers warned against working with the U.S.[1]

• Gunmen on a motorbike killed Yemeni Colonel Abdel Malik al Azri, an intelligence official in the Political Security Office, near the Sana’a airport on March 6.[2]

• A UN delegation that has been in Aden since March 2 has been asked by Yemeni authorities to delay a planned trip to al Dhaleh city for another week because of the security situation.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Ethiopian AMISOM and Somali government forces seized Rabdhure town in Bakool region from al Shabaab on March 5. The assault on Rabdhure, formerly an al Shabaab stronghold, may indicate the beginning of a broader Ethiopian AMISOM offensive against al Shabaab in central Somalia. At least twelve people were killed in the confrontation, including both al Shabaab militants and Somali soldiers. Reports indicate Ethiopian and Somali forces are now advancing toward al Shabaab-controlled Hudur in Bakool region.[4]

• Somali federal military soldiers clashed with Bay region police on March 5 after a dispute at a security checkpoint near Baidoa. At least five people were killed, including Deputy Commander of Bay region’s police division Colonel Nishow Kurtun. Five others were wounded during the shootout.[5]