Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Suspected Ansar al Sharia militants detonate IED in al Bayda; tribesmen clash with security forces in Abyan; al Houthis clash with local tribes in al Hudaydah

Horn of Africa: Kenyan forces clash with al Shabaab fighters; Kenyan government announces new security measures for Kenya-Somalia border

Yemen Security Brief

• Suspected Ansar al Sharia militants detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in al Bayda city, al Bayda on January 28. The attack targeted a vehicle belonging to the 117th Infantry brigade, wounding one soldier.[1]

• Armed tribesmen clashed with security forces in Lawder, Abyan on January 28 near the headquarters of the city’s popular committee. The tribesmen, believed to be allied with Ansar al Sharia, killed two soldiers during the fighting. [2]

• Tribesmen clashed with al Houthi militants in al Zuhra, al Hudaydah on January 27. The fighting began after the al Houthis tried to take control of a local institution and ended with three people wounded.[3]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Kenyan African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces clashed with al Shabaab fighters near the village of Yoontoy Yarey, Lower Jubba region on January 27. Four al Shabaab fighters and one civilian were killed. Yoontoy Yarey is located north of Kismayo, which Kenyan forces captured from al Shabaab in 2012.[4]

• The Kenyan government announced increased security measures for the Kenyan-Somali border on January 28. These new measures include cracking down on illegal firearms, increasing the number of police stations, and the deployment of the Kenya Defense Forces to the border region.[5]