Gulf of Aden Security Review - September 26, 2019

Yemen: Hadramawt governor halts oil exports, issues demands; al Houthi movement attacks Southern Resistance Forces in southwestern Yemen

Horn of Africa: SNA raids al Shabaab base in Lower Shabelle region; al Shabaab attacks Jubbaland Security Forces in Lower Jubba region; Kenyan soldiers kill al Shabaab militants attempting to cross border

Yemen Security Review 

Faraj al Bahsani, the governor of Hadramawt governorate in eastern Yemen, announced the suspension of all oil exports from his jurisdiction on September 26. Bahsani said that Hadramawt will withhold its oil until President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government meets various demands, including the payment of military salaries and electricity bills. Bahsani is also demanding a new arrangement for dividing oil revenue with the federal governorate. Hadramawt exports 80% of Yemen’s oil, which is one of the main sources of revenue for the Hadi government.[1]

Al Houthi forces attacked Southern Resistance Forces in the Hamrat area of Dhaleh governorate in southwestern Yemen on September 25. Southern Resistance Forces repelled the assault.[2]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

Somali National Army (SNA) troops launched an operation targeting an al Shabaab base located approximately 40 miles southwest of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on September 26. The SNA claimed to kill 30 militants and injure 40 others in the raid, which took place base between El Salin and Dhanana villages in Lower Shabelle region.[3]

Al Shabaab militants attacked a base manned by Jubbaland Security Forces in the Abdalla Birole area outside Jubbaland’s capital, Kismayo, on September 26. Al Shabaab militants killed at least three soldiers.[4]

The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) killed 13 al Shabaab militants along the Somali-Kenyan border in Badhadhe district in Lower Jubba region in southern Somalia on September 24. The militants were preparing to cross into Kenya. KDF troops destroyed two improvised fighting vehicles in the process.[5]

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