Gulf of Aden Security Review – July 31, 2020

Yemen: Hadi government-aligned forces exchange artillery with STC-aligned forces in Abyan governorate; STC forces clash with al Houthis in Dhaleh governorate

Horn of Africa: Kenyan police arrest alleged al Shabaab recruit en route to Somalia; Islamic State-aligned militants raid village in northern Mozambique

 Yemen Security Brief:

Forces aligned with the internationally recognized Yemeni government of Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi exchanged artillery with forces aligned with the Transitional Political Council of the South (STC) in Zinjibar district in southern Yemen’s Abyan governorate on July 30. Hadi government-aligned forces previously clashed with STC-aligned forces in Abyan governorate in mid-July. The Hadi government and STC began implementing revised stipulations of the power-sharing, Riyadh Agreement, on July 29.[1]

STC forces clashed with al Houthi militants in Qataba district in southern Yemen’s Dhaleh governorate on July 31. STC forces previously clashed with al Houthi militants in Dhaleh governorate in mid-July.[2]

Horn of Africa Security Brief:

Kenya’s Anti-Terrorism Police Unit arrested a suspected al Shabaab recruit at a train station in Kenya’s capital Nairobi on July 29. Al Shabaab recruiters in Kenya’s southern port city Mombasa radicalized the suspect before he attempted to board a train heading toward Somalia, according to Kenyan police officials. The US Embassy in Nairobi warned in late February that extremist groups are planning attacks on hotels in the capital.[3]

Islamic State-aligned militants raided Tandacua village near Macomia in northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado Province on July 28 and 29. The militants stole food from the villagers and beheaded eight of them. Islamic State-aligned militants killed two civilians in Chai village near Macomia on July 25.[4]