Gulf of Aden Security Review – November 7, 2022

Yemen: The Jordanian government restricts travel between Jordan and Sana’a and Aden; STC Negotiation Affairs head threatens to expel the PLC from Aden; UN Envoy concludes meetings in Riyadh; Saudi Arabia sends five Saudi-trained Yemeni brigades to Aden; Houthis target Ma’rib city with drones, rockets, and missiles

Somalia: Al Shabaab suicide attack targets an SNA training base in Mogadishu; al Shabaab launches complex suicide attack against anti-al Shabaab forces in a recently captured town in north-central Somalia; SNA forces clear several towns in southern Somalia

Yemen Security Brief:

Jordan implemented new visa restrictions on Yemenis traveling from Sana’a or Aden to Amman, Jordan on November 6.[i] Jordan will subject Yemenis to a “security approval” unless the travel is for medical reasons. Travel between Amman and Sana’a for non-medical related reasons was a key component of Yemen’s truce, which began on April 2.[ii]

Southern Transitional Council (STC) Negotiation Affairs head Nasser al Khubaji threatened to prevent Yemeni President Rashad al Alimi’s return to the interim capital city of Aden in a statement on November 7. Khubaji said the STC would restore the “autonomous administration” of southern Yemen if the Yemeni government’s “messing around” in southern Yemen did not cease.[iii]

United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg met with the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen and “diplomats” from the United States, China, United Kingdom, France, and Russia to discuss Yemen’s truce and “political process” during a visit to Riyadh that concluded on November 7.[iv]

Saudi Arabia deployed five Saudi-trained Yemeni brigades from Saudi Arabia to Aden on November 7. The brigades will protect the Presidential Leadership Council and the various state institutions and vital facilities.[v]

The Houthis launched a series of rocket, drone, and missile strikes targeting civilians and government forces in Ma’rib on November 7.[vi] The strikes targeted a 3rd Military Region weapons depot, internally displaced persons camps, and residential areas.[vii]

Somalia Security Brief:

An al Shabaab suicide bomber targeted the front gate of a Somali National Army (SNA) training base in Mogadishu on November 5.[viii] The bomber disguised themselves as an SNA recruit. Somali sources reported the attack killed 10 people and wounded 15 more.[ix] Al Shabaab claimed the attack killed 105 soldiers and said fighters carried out simultaneously nine other grenade or mortar attacks across Mogadishu.[x]

Al Shabaab militants attacked SNA and local militia forces in Qayib, Dhusamareb district, Galgadud region, north-central Somalia, on November 7.[xi] Two suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices targeted the base perimeter and destroyed a telecom mast.[xii] The SNA claimed to repel the attack and that the fighting killed 10 SNA soldiers and 20 militants.[xiii] Al Shabaab claimed to kill 37 soldiers and briefly seize the base but has not yet provided any supporting photo evidence.[xiv] SNA forces had previously cleared Qayib on October 25.[xv]

Somali forces cleared several towns in Lower Shabelle region, southern Somalia. NISA forces claimed to clear Galka-Salimow village and kill 21 al Shabaab fighters on November 5.[xvi] The SNA claimed to clear Katoy village and kill six al Shabaab militants on November 7.[xvii]