Gulf of Aden Security Review – August 14, 2020

Yemen: Saudi-led coalition claims intercepting al Houthi explosive UAV and missiles launched toward Saudi Arabia; UN Special Envoy to Yemen meets with Hadi government officials in Riyadh; Hadi government forces clash with al Houthi militants in Ma’rib governorate; STC forces clash with al Houthi militants in Dhaleh governorate; Hadi government–aligned forces clash with STC-aligned forces in Abyan governorate

Horn of Africa: Galmudug State’s vice president announces campaign against al Shabaab after militants attack local militia base in central Somalia; Islamic State in Somalia claims attack on SNA checkpoint in Somali capital; Mozambican president visits northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province

Yemen Security Brief:

A spokesman for the Saud-led coalition announced that Saudi Arabia intercepted al Houthi explosive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and ballistic missiles on August 13. Al Houthi militants reportedly launched the explosive UAVs and missiles toward Khamis Mushait city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition previously announced intercepting an al Houthi explosive UAV on August 6.[1]

The UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, met with senior officials of the internationally recognized Yemeni government of Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on August 13. They reportedly discussed the UN-led cease-fire proposal between the al Houthi movement and Hadi’s government. They also discussed the need to inspect the abandoned FSO Safer oil tanker off of Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Griffiths previously met with President Hadi in Riyadh in late June.[2]

Hadi government forces reportedly clashed with al Houthi militants in multiple districts of Ma’rib governorate in northern Yemen on August 13 and 14. Hadi government forces previously clashed with al Houthi militants in Ma’rib governorate in late July.[3]

STC forces clashed with al Houthi militants in Qataba district in southern Yemen’s Dhaleh governorate on August 13. STC forces previously clashed with al Houthi militants in Dhaleh governorate in late July.[4]

Hadi government–aligned forces reportedly clashed with forces aligned with the Transitional Political Council of the South (STC) in Zinjibar district in southern Yemen’s Abyan governorate on August 13. Hadi government–aligned forces previously clashed with STC-aligned forces in Abyan governorate on August 11.[5]

Horn of Africa Security Brief:

Galmudug State Vice President Ali Dahir Idd declared on August 13 the start of a military campaign against al Shabaab in central Somalia’s Galgudud and Mudug regions. He said that war planes from Somalia’s international partners would support the campaign. Al Shabaab attacked a local militia base in Mudug region’s Ba’adweyne town after residents refused to pay taxes to the militants on August 12.[6]

The Islamic State in Somalia claimed on August 13 killing a Somali National Army soldier and wounding two other soldiers at a checkpoint in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on August 7. Islamic State in Somalia militants claimed attacking a Somali police station in Mogadishu in mid-May.[7]

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi traveled to Pemba city, the capital of northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, on August 14. He visited a nearby refugee camp occupied by civilians fleeing Islamic State–aligned militants in Cabo Delgado province. Nyusi’s interior minister refused to declare a “state of siege” in Cabo Delgado province on August 13 after Islamic State–aligned militants seized the port town of Mocimboa da Praia on August 11.[8]