Gulf of Aden Security Review - August 12, 2016

Yemen: Al Houthi-Saleh forces attack Saudi forces outside of Najran city, southern Saudi Arabia; Saudi-led coalition conducts airstrikes on Sana’a; Hadi government forces advance in eastern Taiz city; Yemeni government closes Aden-Abyan road citing AQAP concerns; al Houthi-Saleh forces attack near Maris, al Dhaleh

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab militants ambush SNA and AMISOM forces near Hudur, Bakool region; suspected al Shabaab militants target officials in Mogadishu; Somali officials revise policies for al Shabaab defectors

Yemen Security Brief

• Al Houthi-Saleh forces attacked Saudi military positions on the outskirts of Najran city, southern Saudi Arabia, on August 11. Al Houthi-Saleh forces killed several border guards and destroyed multiple military vehicles. Pro-al Houthi media claimed that al Houthi-Saleh forces captured key positions near the city. Other sources claimed that Saudi forces rebuffed the al Houthi-Saleh attack and recaptured the contested positions. Saudi forces shelled al Houthi-Saleh positions near al Huthayra on the border of Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia.[1]

• The Saudi-led coalition bombed multiple al Houthi-Saleh targets in and around Sana’a city on August 12. The coalition bombed the al Daylami Air Force Base north of the capital city, two military camps in the Arhab district, one military camp in the Bani al Harith district, and the presidential compound in  al Sabeen neighborhood in southern Sana’a. Coalition airstrikes struck al Houthi-Saleh ammunitions and arms caches in Arhab district. Airstrikes killed multiple civilians, including three children.[2]

• Yemeni forces loyal to President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government continued an offensive on Taiz city, central Yemen, and secured the eastern district of Thabat. Al Houthi-Saleh forces attempted a counterattack from the west but government forces repulsed the attack. The Military Council of Taiz reported 27 government casualties and 11 al Houthi-Saleh casualties. The committee tasked with supervising a ceasefire in Taiz reported 27 civilian casualties.[3]

• Hadi government security forces closed the road connecting the southern port city of Aden to Zinjibar in Abyan governorate. The government cited concerns over the movement of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants from Abyan into Aden.[4] 

• Al Houthi-Saleh forces attacked Ramma town near Maris district in al Dhaleh governorate on August 12. Hadi government-allied forces claimed to rebuff the attack. Both sides exchanged artillery fire.[5]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab militants ambushed Somali National Army (SNA) and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces near Hudur town in Bakool region on August 11. The attackers killed three SNA soldiers. Al Shabaab fighters killed three coalition fighters in Hudur on July 28.[6]

• Suspected al Shabaab militants attacked two Somali officials in Mogadishu on August 12. Militants shot and killed Ilyas Abdullahi Adar, a local government official, in the Shibis district of Mogadishu. Militants failed to assassinate the Dharkenley district commissioner with a grenade blast, but wounded two security guards.[7]

• Somali officials announced revised policies for the treatment of former al Shabaab fighters. Officials will offer low-threat former militants counseling and job training. The Ministry of Internal Security announced the more relaxed policies in an effort to promote al Shabaab defections.[8]