Gulf of Aden Security Review - July 17, 2015

Yemen: Hadi government officially announces the liberation of Aden; former President Ali Abdullah Saleh calls for a cessation to the fighting in Yemen

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab leader releases Eid al Fitr statement; al Shabaab seizes Lower Shabelle base

Yemen Security Brief

• Vice President Khaled Bahah officially declared Aden as being liberated after southern popular resistance forces retook the Tawahi district of Aden City on July 17, the last al Houthi position in the city. Southern popular resistance fighters, with the assistance of the Saudi Arabian military, executed Operation Golden Arrow on July 14 with the objective of liberating the city of Aden.[1]   

• Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose forces support the al Houthi movement, has called for a cessation in conflict throughout Yemen. Saleh’s statement comes at the beginning of the period of Eid al Fitr, the conclusion of the Islamic Holy month of Ramadan, throughout Yemen.[2]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab’s media arm Al Kataib released an Eid al Fitr statement by the group’s leader Abu Ubeydah Ahmad Omar. The statement, which is in English, praises Muslims for completing Ramadan fasting and the Sheikh Aby Zubeyr battalion for their recent operations and also calls for the group to renew its presence in Kenya.[3]

• Al Shabaab militants have reportedly seized a Somali military base in Golweyn, Lower Shabelle region. The group has gained control of at least eleven bases in the region since July 2.[4]