Gulf of Aden Security Review - April 9, 2019

Yemen: STC responds to Hadi’s convening of Parliament; UN-brokered peace process sponsors issue statement; German ambassador to Yemen meets with Hadi government Deputy Prime Minister; UN envoy meets with al Houthi movement leader in Sana’a

Horn of Africa: Sudanese police ordered not to intervene against protesters; clan clashes kill seven in Lower Shabelle

Yemen Security Brief

Transitional Political Council for the South (STC) Vice President Hani bin Brik stated on April 8 that the STC does not support the convening of Yemeni Parliament but that it welcomes Saudi and Emirati forces in southern Yemen. President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi recently announced that Parliament will convene in Sayun city in Hadramawt governorate in eastern Yemen in order to elect a new Head of Parliament and set a legislative agenda. Two STC parliamentarians, STC Foreign Minister Aidarus al Naqib and Nassar al Khubji, will attend the first parliamentary session later this week.[1]

The ambassadors of the nineteen countries sponsoring the UN-brokered peace process in Yemen reiterated their support for the peace process and President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government in a joint statement on April 8. The statement praised the Hadi government’s efforts to stabilize the Yemeni rial and stressed the importance of paying all government salaries going forward.[2]

German ambassador to Yemen Carola Mueller-Holtkimper met with Hadi government Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Ahmed al Misri and Aden Governor Ahmed Salem Rabie Ali in Aden city in southern Yemen on April 9.  Mueller-Holtkimper discussed the possibility of supporting development projects in Aden at both meetings.[3]

UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths met with al Houthi movement leader Abdul Malik al Houthi in Yemen’s capital Sana’a on April 8 to discuss the implementation of the UN-brokered Stockholm Agreement. Disagreements between the al Houthi movement and Hadi government have delayed the first phase of the agreement, which calls for the withdrawal of al Houthi forces from two ports in al Hudaydah governorate, since December 2018.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

Sudan’s police ordered officers not to intervene against protestors in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on April 9. Thousands of demonstrators have protested against the regime of President Omar al Bashir since December 2018, but the protests in Khartoum have increased in intensity in recent days. At least two Sudanese soldiers have died defending protestors from pro-regime security forces since April 7.[5]

Rival clans clashed in Wanlaweyn district in Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia on April 9. The clans clashed over control of a checkpoint, killing at least seven people.[6]

View our Yemen, Sudan, and Somalia story streams.