Gulf of Aden Security Review - September 27, 2019

Yemen: Saudi Arabia agrees to partial cease-fire in Yemen; STC forces shell Shabwah governor’s residence; STC-aligned militias clash in Abyan

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab IED injures Turkish nationals in Mogadishu; al Shabaab militants attack checkpoint in Middle Shabelle region; SNA troops kill al Shabaab militants in Lower Shabelle region

 Yemen Security Brief

 Saudi Arabia agreed to a partial cease-fire with the al Houthi movement in Yemen on September 27, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The al Houthi movement offered a cease-fire on September 20, days after claiming a drone attack on oil facilities in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. US officials assessed that the attack likely originated in Iran and had exacerbated a rift within the al Houthi movement. Saudi Arabia’s cease-fire is limited to four areas in Yemen, including the al Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, Sana’a. Saudi officials hope that the cease-fire will allow the al Houthi movement to distance itself from Iran.[1]

Southern Resistance Forces, a militia loyal to the secessionist Transitional Political Council for the South (STC), attacked the home of the Governor of Shabwah governorate in southern Yemen on September 27. The attack, which occurred in Shabwah’s capital, Ataq, injured three of the governor’s bodyguards.[2]

Two STC-aligned militias clashed near Jaar town in Abyan governorate in southern Yemen on September 27. The clashes injured multiple soldiers loyal to Abdul Latif al Sayyed, who commands a brigade of STC-aligned and UAE-backed al Hizam Security Forces.[3]

 Horn of Africa Security Brief

Al Shabaab detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) targeting Turkish nationals near the KM-5 junction in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, on September 26. The attack injured two Turkish nationals.[4]

Al Shabaab attacked a security checkpoint in Bal’ad town, located approximately 18 miles north of Mogadishu in Middle Shabelle region, on September 26.[5]

Somali National Army forces killed seven al Shabaab militants in the Gendershe and Dhanaane areas of Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia on September 27.[6]