Gulf of Aden Security Review – April 24, 2023

Yemen: STC-backed forces kill AQAP official; AQAP and AQIM issue first joint statement in six years; STC President meets with Yemeni defense minister to discuss Houthi military threat and deterrent efforts

Somalia: Al Shabaab launches a complex suicide attack on SNA base in north-central Somalia; SNA and local fighters secure village in north-central Somalia; SNA and local fighters clear al Shabaab hideouts in southwestern Somalia; US-linked Somali defense officer dies from his wounds after Al Shabaab assassination attempt

Yemen Security Brief

Southern media outlet Aden Time reported on April 24 that Southern Transition Council (STC)-backed forces killed an Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) official in a firefight in Wadi Omran, Abyan governorate, southern Yemen. Aden Time said the official was a close associate of the AQAP commander in Abyan and Shabwah governorates. AQAP confirmed the identity and killing of the official but did not report a date.[i]

AQAP and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) issued their first joint statement since 2017 on April 24. The statement was an Eid al Fitr holiday greeting to the Muslim world.[ii]

STC President Aydarus al Zubaidi met with the Yemeni defense minister and several other military leaders to discuss force readiness and developments in the Houthi military threat on April 24.[iii] The meeting also discussed ways to balance deterrence with restraint amidst ongoing peace efforts.

Somalia Security Brief

Al Shabaab launched a complex suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack targeting a Somali National Army (SNA) base in Masagawa village, El Dheere district, Galguduud region, north-central Somalia, on April 22.[iv] SNA forces repelled the attack.[v] Local media claimed that al Shabaab killed at least eight people, including soldiers and civilians. Somali government-affiliated media claimed the SNA killed at least 18 al Shabaab militants.[vi] 

The SNA and local fighters secured El Qansah village, El Dheere district, Galgudud region, north-central Somalia, on April 23.[vii] The operation killed five al Shabaab militants.[viii]

SNA and local fighters cleared al Shabaab hideouts in Afmadow district, Lower Jubba region, southwestern Somalia, on April 22.[ix]

Local media claimed that the US-trained Danab special forces’ chief of operations died from his wounds on April 22 sustained in an al Shabaab assassination attempt on April 20.[x]