Gulf of Aden Security Review - March 19, 2015

Yemen: Forces loyal to Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi retake Aden International Airport from pro-al Houthi forces; al Houthis deploy forces to Ma’rib-al Bayda border; French citizen released from captivity after nearly a month

Horn of Africa: The U.S. Department of Defense confirms March 12 airstrike targeting al Shabaab member

Yemen Security Brief

• Local militias loyal to Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi along with soldiers from the Yemeni Special Forces, 119th Infantry Brigade, and 31st Armored Brigade led by Defense Minister Mahmoud al Subaihi launched a complex assault on Special Security Forces (SSF) under the command of reported Saleh and al Houthi-loyalist Abdul Hafiz al Saqqaf, driving the SSF from Aden International Airport, Aden city on March 19.  Three soldiers and one popular committee member died in the fighting, along with an unspecified number of SSF troops. Pro-Hadi forces then reportedly surrounded the SSF camp in Aden, leading to the surrender of the SSF troops. Al Saqqaf reportedly fled the SSF encampment, and has taken refuge at the home of the Director of National Security in Aden, Ghazi Ahmed Ali. Unconfirmed reporting also indicates that fighter jets attacked the Presidential Compound in Aden following clashes at the airport.[1]

• Al Houthi militants deployed forces, including a number of armored vehicles to the Ma’rib–al Bayda border on March 19. Ma’ribi tribesmen had gathered near the border earlier in the week to defend against a possible al Houthi incursion into the governorate.[2]

• Armed tribesmen released a French citizen on March 19. She had been kidnapped in the capital, Sana’a, on February 24.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• The U.S. Department of Defense issued a press release on March 18 confirming that it had conducted the March 12 airstrike that targeted al Shabaab member Adan Garar. The statement also confirmed the death of Garar.[4]