Gulf of Aden Security Review - October 10, 2014

Yemen: Former president of South Yemen sends letter to UNSC; IED targets al Houthis in Sana’a; President Hadi forms two committees to investigate suicide bombings in Sana’a

Horn of Africa: Suspected al Shabaab militants assassinate police officer in Mombasa, Kenya; unidentified gunmen target Kenyan official at his residence in Nairobi, Kenya

Yemen Security Brief

• Former president of South Yemen, Ali Salem al Beidh, wrote a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on October 10, calling on the UNSC to support the right of Southerners to be independent from the North. Additionally, the Secretary General of the People’s Democratic Party, Salah Sayadi, called for independence from the North on October 10 and claimed that Southern Yemen will gain independence on November 30.[1]

• Unidentified assailants planted an improvised explosive device (IED) near al Ashash highway in Sana’a on October 9. Yemeni security forces found and dismantled the device before it detonated. Unverified reports indicate the bomb may have been targeting al Houthis.[2]

• President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi formed two committees in Sana’a on October 10 to investigate the October 9 bombings of an al Houthi gathering in Sana’a and a military checkpoint in Hadramawt. Additionally, al Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam al Houthi claimed that the October 9 bombings were part of a foreign conspiracy.[3]

Horn of Africa

• Three Suspected al Shabaab militants shot and killed a police officer guarding a casino in Mombasa, Kenya on October 9. The suspects successfully escaped and remain at large.[4]

• Four unidentified gunmen attempted to forcefully enter the residence of the Kenyan National Land Commission chairman, Muhamad Swazuri, before being fired upon by security guards. Swazuri’s guards killed one assailant, while the remaining three escaped.[5]