Gulf of Aden Security Review - November 7, 2019

Yemen: Al Houthi movement conducts drone and missile attack in al Mokha city; Yemeni political parties announce support for STC-Hadi government power-sharing agreement; clashes erupt at al Islahi militia camp in Abyan

 Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab militants assassinate Deputy Governor of Lower Shabelle region; Puntland presidential guard clashes with regional security forces in Garowe; Egyptian, Ethiopian, and Sudanese representatives discuss Nile dam in Washington

 Yemen Security Brief

The al Houthi movement conducted a drone and missile attack on al Mokha port city in western Yemen on November 6. The attack targeted warehouses used by the Giants Brigade, a unit aligned with President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government. The attack killed eight people, including three civilians, and wounded twelve others.[1]

Thirteen Yemeni political parties announced their support for the Riyadh Agreement on November 6. The Hadi government and Transitional Political Council for the South (STC), a southern Yemeni secessionist group, signed the agreement on November 5 to end a standoff over Yemen’s de facto capital, Aden. The General People’s Congress (GPC), al Islah Party, Yemeni Socialist Party, Nasserist Unionist People's Organization, and al Rashad Union were among the parties that announced their support for the agreement on November 6.[2]

Clashes broke out between militia fighters loyal to the al Islah party near Akkad camp in Abyan governorate in southern Yemen on November 7, according to anti-al Islahi media.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

Al Shabaab militants assassinated the Deputy Governor of Lower Shabelle region, Omar Arabey, and two of his bodyguards at his residence in Afgoi town in Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia on November 6. Somali security forces arrested several suspects in raids later that evening.[4]

Members of Puntland’s presidential guard clashed with Puntland security forces in Garowe, the capital of Puntland State in northern Somalia, on November 6. The fighting erupted outside Puntland’s parliament building, killing one soldier and two civilians. Somali media attributed the clashes to a rift between Puntland Speaker Abdikahim Mohamed Ahmed ‘Dhoobo-Daarood' and Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni. The Puntland parliament subsequently voted Dhoobo-Daarood out of office on November 7.[5]

Representatives from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan met with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC on November 6 to discuss Ethiopia’s construction of a Nile River dam. The countries agreed to set a January 15 deadline to reach an agreement on filling and operating the dam, which are the two main sticking points in ongoing discussions over the dam. Egypt fears that the dam will threaten its water supply.[6]

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