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[Notice: The Critical Threats Project frequently cites sources from foreign domains. All such links are identified with an asterisk(*) for the reader's awareness.]
Below are the takeaways from the week:
YEMEN
The al Houthi movement is attacking the military command capabilities of opposing Yemeni forces. On August 1, an al Houthi–claimed drone and missile attack killed dozens of southern Yemeni security forces, including a senior commander, gathered for a parade in Aden, the de facto capital of the Yemeni government. The August 1 attack sparked *clashes between the UAE-backed al Hizam forces and Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi government–aligned forces in Aden.
YEMEN
The Islamic State in Yemen and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)separately attacked Yemeni security forces. The Islamic State in Yemen targeted Aden’s police forces in its first vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack in over a year on August 1. AQAP escalated a campaign against UAE-backed security forces in eastern Abyan governorate by *overrunning their base on August 1.
LIBYA
The Libyan National Army’s(LNA) failure to seize Libya’s capital, Tripoli, since beginning a campaign in April is degrading security across the country. The Tripoli war has *spread beyond the capital area with strikes on bases in Misrata and Jufra. The LNA’s attempts to maintain control in southern Libya are *destabilizing a region in which Salafi-jihadi groups operate.
ALGERIA
Algerian protesters and the Algerian army are reaching an impasse that could destabilize the country. Protesters called for civil disobedience on August 2 for the first time in months of demonstrations after the army chief of staff rejected preconditions for negotiations between the interim government and protesters. The army chief of staff has consolidated power since the resignation of Algeria’s longtime president in April and could crack down on demonstrators that challenge the army’s hold on power.