Gulf of Aden Security Review - June 29, 2015

Yemen: The al Houthi movement bombs oil refinery twice in Aden governorate; members of the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi have been sent to five different countries to gain international support for the implementation of UNSCR 2216

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab beheads local official following June 26 attack in Lego, Lower Shabelle region; militants execute three accused of being CIA spies; Ugandan troops liberate Torotorow

Yemen Security Brief

• The al Houthi movement fired missiles at an Aden oil refinery in the Burayqah area of Aden governorate on June 27, killing 14 people. The al Houthi movement bombed the site a second time on June 29, hitting an empty oil tank. The refinery closed in April after declaring force majeure on its imports and exports. Yemen is currently facing severe fuel shortages, exacerbated by the conflict within the country.[1]

• Yemeni Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin stated that members of the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi will be sent to the United States, Britain, Belgium, Germany, and Russia in an effort to build international support for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2216.[2]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Burundi military spokesman Colonel Gaspard Baratuza confirmed that al Shabaab militants killed 50 soldiers during the June 26 attack on an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) base in Lego, Lower Shabelle region. The militants still reportedly hold an unknown number of troops and local officials they abducted during the attack. Local reports say that the militants beheaded Deputy District Commissioner Hassanow Madayle, who was among the abducted. Somali and AMISOM troops briefly recovered the base but have since retreated, allowing militants to retake the area.[3]

• Al Shabaab militants killed three men in Sakow, Middle Jubba region, on June 28. The group accused the three of being CIA spies and of placing tracking chips in the homes and vehicles of al Shabaab commanders Tahiil and Yusuf Dheeg, who were killed by an airstrike earlier this year.[4]

• Local reporting indicates that Ugandan People’s Defense Forces troops serving AMISOM liberated Tortorow, Lower Shabelle region, from al Shabaab militants on June 28, but have since withdrawn from the town. The militants had been using the town to train fighters, levy taxes against residents, and conduct attacks along the Mogadishu-Barawe road. Residents are requesting international aid after the operation, claiming that the militants destroyed the town’s civil society.[5]