Gulf of Aden Security Review – April 11, 2022

Yemen: Yemeni government officials call for increased combat readiness; UN Special Envoy arrives in Sana’a; Houthis continue military preparations in Ma’rib governorate

Somalia: AMISOM imposes a total lockdown on the Halane Base green zone in Mogadishu; al Shabaab claims to mortar 14 districts in Mogadishu; al Shabaab raids an Ethiopian AMISOM base in southern Somalia; Galmudug security forces clear a village in central Somalia

Yemen Security Brief:

Yemeni government officials warned that the Houthis will likely break the truce in Yemen and called on security forces to prepare to counter Houthi attacks. National Resistance Forces leader and Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) member Tariq Saleh called for the Yemeni Army to increase its combat readiness and prepare to confront Houthi truce violations on April 10.[i] Southern Transitional Council President and PLC member Aydarus al Zubaidi issued a statement calling on Yemenis to prepare for war against the Houthis on April 11.[ii]

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg arrived in Sana’a city for meetings with the Houthi movement’s leadership on April 11.[iii] The Houthis previously announced they released forty prisoners on the orders of Houthi movement leader Abdul Malik al Houthi on April 9.[iv]

The Houthis reportedly continued moving troops and equipment into Ma’rib governorate, central Yemen. Yemeni military sources said the Houthis also began constructing earthworks in al Alam, northern Ma’rib governorate, on April 10.[v] Local sources reported the Houthis moved “a large number” of tanks, armored vehicles, and personnel from Dhamar and al Bayda governorates to al Jubah district, southern Ma’rib governorate the same day.[vi]

Somalia Security Brief:

African Union Misson in Somalia (AMISOM) locked down Halane base in Mogadishu, southern Somalia, on April 10.[vii]  The lockdown will end on April 16. AMISOM will increase the number of internal checkpoints, conduct day and night patrols, enforce a nightly curfew, block access to the beach at night, and sweep all construction sites with sniffer dogs. AMISOM claimed the lockdown is a routine precautionary measure to prevent terrorist security breaches. The Somali Federal Government will swear in newly elected MPs at the base on April 14.

Al Shabaab claimed to mortar 14 of Mogadishu’s 17 total districts on April 10.[viii] No independent media sources have verified the attacks.

Al Shabaab conducted a complex attack on an Ethiopian AMISOM base in Dinsor, Bay region, southern Somalia, on April 11.[ix]  Al Shabaab mortared and stormed the base with ground forces. Al Shabaab claimed they killed eleven soldiers and wounded seven others.[x] AMISOM claimed they repelled the attack and killed seven militants.[xi]

Galmudug security forces cleared al Shabaab from Qararow village in Hobyo district, Mudug region, central Somalia, on April 10.[xii] Galmudug State officials claimed they killed several militants and captured a vehicle carrying explosives.[xiii]