Gulf of Aden Security Review - November 21, 2019

Yemen: Al Houthis claim to intercept Saudi-led coalition plane in northern Yemen; STC forms committee to oversee transfer of military positions in Aden; Hadi government-aligned forces attack al Houthis in Taiz governorate; al Islah official killed in clashes with al Houthis

Horn of Africa: Jubbaland Security Forces arrest al Shabaab militants in Lower Jubba region

Yemen Security Brief

The al Houthi movement claimed to intercept a Saudi-led coalition F-15 warplane in Sa’ada governorate in northern Yemen on November 20. The coalition denied the incident.[1]

The Transitional Political Council for the South (STC), a southern Yemeni separatist group, has formed joint committees to oversee the transfer of STC-controlled military positions in and around Yemen’s de facto capital, Aden. The committees include representatives from President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government and the Saudi-led coalition. The STC and Hadi government signed a power-sharing agreement on November 5 to end a military standoff over Aden.[2]

Hadi government-aligned forces claimed to ambush al Houthi forces east of Taiz city in southwestern Yemen on November 21, killing eight militants and injuring another 11.[3]

The Islamist al Islah Party announced on November 20 that one of its leaders, Ahmed Hamid al Dharaj, had died in clashes with the al Houthi movement in Nihm district, east of the al Houthi-controlled capital, Sana’a.[4]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

Jubbaland Security Forces arrested four al Shabaab militants suspected of orchestrating assassinations in Lower Jubba region in southern Somalia on November 21.[5]