Gulf of Aden Security Review - June 11, 2014

Yemen: Yemeni military forces defuse two VBIEDs near hospital and ambush an AQAP vehicle in Shabwah; Yemeni military conducts airstrikes against tribal militia in Ma’rib; protestors demonstrate near U.S. embassy in Sana’a; President Hadi reshuffles cabinet in response to rising public tension

Horn of Africa: roadside IED detonates near Djiboutian AMISOM convoy in Hiraan region; Somaliland forces move into disputed town in Sanag region

Yemen Security Brief

• Soldiers from the Yemeni 3rd Regional Military Command defused and dismantled two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED) near a public hospital in Ataq, Shabwah on June 11. Separately, Yemeni soldiers ambushed a vehicle carrying al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants in Niqba, Shabwah on June 11. The Yemeni soldiers reportedly killed all of the AQAP militants within the vehicle during the ambush.[1]

• The Yemeni 3rd Regional Military Command conducted airstrikes against a tribal militia in Asheil, Ma’rib on June 11. The Yemeni military conducted the airstrikes, which injured three militiamen, after the militia kidnapped two engineers and sabotaged power lines along the road to Sana’a in Asheil. The tribal militia reportedly attempted to resist the airstrikes with anti-aircraft weapons.[2]

• Local Yemenis demonstrated near the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a, blocking an access road with rocks and burning tires, on June 11.  The demonstrators were reportedly protesting fuel shortages in Yemen. In response, Yemeni security forces fired upon the crowd in an attempt to disperse the protesters.[3]

• President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi reshuffled his cabinet on June 11 amid public outrage over power cuts and fuel shortages. Notably, Yemen’s UN Ambassador Jamal Abdullah al Sallal was appointed as the new foreign minister.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• A roadside improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near a Djiboutian AMISOM convoy in Bulo-Burde, Hiraan region on June 11. An unspecified number of Djiboutian soldiers were killed in the explosion. Although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, al Shabaab has conducted similar attacks against AMISOM forces in the past.[5]

• Somaliland forces moved into Hingalol, a town disputed by the Puntland and Somaliland regional administrations, in Sanag region on June 11. Local elders urged the Somaliland troops to withdraw, stating that local residents will forcibly resist a Somaliland presence in the town. In response, Puntland forces reportedly began posturing in Sanag region, escalating the tension between the neighboring administrations.[6]