Gulf of Aden Security Review - October 17, 2014

Yemen: Al Houthi gunmen seize border post in Hajjah; AQAP calls on jihad groups to end infighting; Yemeni soldiers fire on Southern Movement protestors in Aden; armed tribesmen attack al Houthi militants in Ibb

Horn of Africa: AMISOM forces arrest suspected al Shabaab militants in Lower Shabelle region; Kenyan security forces disarm IED planted by suspected al Shabaab militants in Kenya’s North Eastern Province

Yemen Security Brief

• Al Houthi gunmen seized control of the Harad border checkpoint in Hajjah, near Saudi Arabia’s Jazan province on October 16. No fighting was reported in the incident. Al Houthis attacked the area previously in 2009 during the Sa’ada Wars. [1]

• Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a statement via one of its official Twitter accounts on October 17 condemning the U.S. coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS) and calling on jihad groups to stop infighting. The statement is the first AQAP statement to mention IS by name and emphasizes the importance of weakening the U.S.[2]

• Yemeni soldiers opened fire on Southern Movement protestors in Khormaksar, Aden on October 17, wounding seven civilians.[3]

• Tribal militants attacked al Houthi gunmen in Ibb City, Ibb on October 17, resulting in the deaths of six al Houthis and two tribesmen. The al Houthis have been making efforts recently to establish a presence in Yemen’s southern provinces in an effort to combat al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Separately, al Houthi gunmen stormed the state residence of the governor of Dhamar on October 16, meeting no resistance from government forces. [4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces reportedly arrested twelve suspected al Shabaab militants during a security operation in Barawe, Lower Shabelle region on October 16.[5]

• Kenyan security forces disarmed an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by suspected al Shabaab militants along a road in Mandera County in Kenya’s North Eastern Province on October 17. An IED targeting Mandera Governor Ali Roba’s convoy detonated on the same road on October 15.[6]