Gulf of Aden Security Review - July 28, 2015

Yemen: Saudi coalition forces provide advanced weaponry to popular resistance in Abyan; Human Rights Watch accuses Saudi Arabia of committing war crimes

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab executes a man in Middle Jubba region; U.S. President Barack Obama states U.S. will not sent troops to Somalia

Yemen Security Brief

• Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces provided advanced weaponry to members of anti-al Houthi popular resistance forces in Lawder, Abyan. Local popular resistance forces have been making minor territorial gains within Lawder and have recently taken Jabal Yasuf, a key strategic position overlooking Lawder city.[1]

• Human Rights Watch has issued a report claiming that Saudi Arabia-led coalition airstrikes may have committed war crimes after hitting two residential compounds in the port city of Mocha on July 24. Human Rights Watch claimed that there was no evidence of an al Houthi presence within the area or any potential military targets and has called for a UN investigation into the incident.[2]   

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab militants reportedly executed a man charged by a militant judge with killing another man in Bu’aale, Middle Jubba region, on July 28. Bu’aale residents were summoned by militants to witness the execution. Al Shabaab maintains a large presence in the Middle Jubba region despite the African Union Mission in Somalia’s ongoing operation to drive the militants from southwest Somalia.[3]

• U.S. President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. will not send troops to fight al Shabaab in Somalia during a July 27 joint press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in Addis Ababa. President Obama stated that a U.S. presence was not needed because regional actors understand the importance of stabilizing the Horn of Africa.[4]