Gulf of Aden Security Review - November 24, 2014

Yemen: Southern Movement states intent to erect checkpoints along north-south border; roadside IEDs target al Qayfa tribal leader in al Bayda; Minister of Defense announces integration of al Houthis into military

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab militants hijack bus and execute civilians in Kenya’s North Eastern; Kenyan defense forces kill dozens of al Shabaab militants in response to al Shabaab attack; Somali Parliament compromises second attempt at vote of no confidence in the Somali prime minister

Yemen Security Brief

• Factions of Yemen’s Southern Movement stated on November 24 that they will erect checkpoints along the pre-1990 borders between north and south Yemen after the November 30 deadline on which southerners have demanded all northern government employees and armed forces leave the South.  A Southern Movement leader Faoud Rashid also stated that talks are underway among southern leaders to unify the various factions of the Southern Movement.[1]

• An unidentified airstrike targeted the vehicle of an unnamed tribal sheikh in Rada’a, al Bayda, 150 km southeast of Sana’a. No casualties resulted from the strike. Separately, unknown militants planted two roadside improvised explosive devices (IED) targeting the car of an al Qayfa tribal leader, also in Rada’a, al Bayda. The tribal leader, who is engaged in fighting al Houthi militants in al Bayda, survived the assassination attempt. [2]

• Yemen’s Minster of Defense Mahmoud al Subaihi announced on November 23 that plans are underway to integrate al Houthi fighters into Yemen’s security and armed forces. The plan is part of an agreement with the al Houthi movement to create a balance among the groups represented in Yemen’s military.[3] 

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab militants hijacked a bus and executed 28 civilians onboard in Mandera in Kenya’s North Eastern Province on November 22. Al Shabaab spokesman Ali Mahmoud Rage released a statement on November 22 claiming the group’s responsibility for the attack and announcing that the killings were in retaliation for the November 17-19 mosque raids by Kenyan security forces.[4]

• Kenyan defense forces conducted operations in Somalia, reportedly killing 100 al Shabaab militants on November 23 in response to the November 22 al Shabaab bus attack. Security officials didn’t disclose the location of the operations, but stated that two successful operations destroyed al Shabaab camps. Al Shabaab spokesman Abdi Aziz Abu Musab denied the validity of the alleged causality count.[5]

• The Somali Federal Parliament attempted to hold a session to vote on confidence in the Somali Prime Minister on November 24, however dissenting members of parliament shredded official documents and loudly disrupted the agenda. Disruptions by members of Parliament suspended a previous confidence vote on November 11.[6]