Gulf of Aden Security Review - April 8, 2020

Yemen: Saudi-back Hadi government forces clash with al Houthis in Taiz governorate; Saudi-backed Hadi government forces claim seizing al Houthi-held territory in al Bayda governorate; Saudi-led coalition forces accuse al Houthis of forcing African migrants to enter Saudi Arabia

Horn of Africa: IS in Somalia claims attack in Mogadishu; Somali officials confirm death of senior al Shabaab militant; al Shabaab detonates IEDs targeting AMISOM convoy in central Somalia; unidentified militants detonate IED targeting Puntland State security forces in northern Somalia

Yemen Security Brief:

Saudi-backed forces aligned with the internationally recognized Yemeni government of Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi clashed with al Houthi militants in Taiz governorate in southwestern Yemen on April 7. Hadi government forces claimed killing seven al Houthi militants and wounding 16 others. The al Houthi militants shelled residential neighborhoods in Bir Basha and Dhabab in Taiz governorate on the same day, according to local sources. Al Houthi militants shelled a prison in Taiz on April 5, killing six female prisoners and injuring others.^[1]

Saudi-backed Hadi government forces claimed seizing al Houthi-held territory on al Malagem front in al Bayda governorate in southern Yemen on April 7, after reportedly launching airstrikes targeting and killing over 40 al Houthi militants. Saudi-backed Hadi government forces claimed seizing al Ghadir hills, al Shaheid mountain, Ashar junction, and Wadi Fadha on al Malagem front. Saudi-backed Hadi government forces claimed seizing several locations on Qaniya front in al Bayda on April 6.^[2]

Saudi-led coalition forces accused al Houthi militants of forcing hundreds of African migrants to enter Saudi Arabia from Yemen’s northern borders. Saudi-led coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al Maliki claimed that videos circulating on social media showed al Houthi militants shooting at African migrants in Sa’ada governorate in northern Yemen, forcing migrants toward the Saudi border.^[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief:

The Islamic State (IS) in Somalia claimed attacking police officers near Bakara market in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on April 7. The group claimed killing two officers and wounding another. IS Somalia assassinated a Puntland State police officer in Boosaaso in northern Somalia’s Bari region in late February.[4]

Somali security officials announced on April 7 that a US Africa Command (AFRICOM) airstrike killed senior al Shabaab militant Yonis Sheikh Dahir near Bush Madina in central Somalia’s Bay Region on April 2. Dahir was an al Shabaab counterintelligence operative and explosives commander in southern Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region. Dahir helped facilitate al Shabaab’s September 2019 attack on the US-run Balidoogle Airbase in Lower Shabelle region. The AFRICOM airstrike on April 2 also killed senior al Shabaab member Yusuf Jiis.^[5]

Al Shabaab detonated multiple improvised explosive devices (IEDs) targeting a Burundian African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) convoy between Jowhar and Bal’ad in central Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region on April 8. The attack injured multiple AMISOM troops, according to local witnesses. Al Shabaab detonated an IED targeting Hirshabelle State administrators in Jowhar on April 4.^[6]

Unidentified militants detonated an IED targeting a Puntland State security vehicle in Boosaaso in northern Somalia’s Bari region on April 8. The blast injured nine civilians and one Puntland State security officer. Al Shabaab launched a mortar attack killing a Puntland State security officer near Boosaaso in mid-March.^[7]