Gulf of Aden Security Review

Yemen: Tribal clashes in Lawder kill four people; U.S. increases security measures following al Qaeda parcel plot

Horn of Africa: Al Shabaab spokesman says al Shabaab has foiled AMISOM and the TFG’s planned attacks; grenade attack in Mogadishu kills two, injures ten; al Shabaab arrested five people in Beled Hawo; fighting between al Shabaab and the TFG and AMISOM in Mogadishu leaves two dead, four wounded; al Shabaab arrested 23 people in Jowhar for failing to answer religious questions; at least nine people injured in a grenade attack in Somaliland; Galmudug and Puntland officials meet to discuss security in Galkayo

Yemen Security Brief

• Violence resulting from a land dispute between the al Damani and al Mejhez tribes in Lawder in Abyan governorate left four people dead and others wounded.  The land dispute between these tribes has been going on since 2005.[1]

• Following al Qaeda’s intercepted parcel bomb plot, the U.S. has tightened security restrictions on passenger and cargo planes.  Passengers can no longer carry on large printer cartridges and “high risk” cargo will not be allowed on passenger flights.  Cargo flights must be able to provide their flight manifests earlier.  The ban on air cargo from Yemen was extended indefinitely, and was also extended to include Somalia.[2]

Horn of Africa Security Brief

• Al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohammed Rage said Tuesday that al Shabaab has managed to foil AMISOM and the TFG’s planned attacks by preemptively striking their bases throughout Mogadishu.  Rage also said that the TFG’s poor leadership has contributed to al Shabaab’s success.  He said, “The international community also failed to build the government, you hear there is disagreement between Sharifs, Farmajo was elected or was not elected. There is dispute between officials of the government and so on.”[3]

• Unknown attackers threw a grenade into a crowded area of Hamar Weyne district in Mogadishu on Monday night, killing two people and injuring ten others.[4]

• Al Shabaab arrested five civilians during operations in Beled Hawo in the Gedo region.  Al Shabaab has not commented on the reason for their arrest, and they are currently being held in jails in Gedo region.[5]

• Fighting between al Shabaab and TFG and AMISOM troops in Mogadishu flared up on Tuesday after al Shabaab attacked AMISOM bases.  A shell that landed in Towfik neighborhood killed two civilians and wounded four others.[6]

• Al Shabaab militants in Jowhar in Middle Shabelle region arrested 23 people on Monday.  A resident of Jowhar said, “The warriors of al Shabaab have on Monday afternoon poured on some of the streets of Jawahr [sic] town asking the people on the streets religious question and whoever failed to answer the questions asked was taken behind bars.”[7]

• At least nine people were wounded in a grenade attack in Hargeisa in Somaliland.  Somaliland officials claim that the attack was not a terror attack, but that it was the result of a dispute between two cousins.[8]

• Members of the administration of the self-declared Galmudug State and Puntland met to discuss a security agreement concerning Galkayo town in Mudug region.  A bank was robbed in Galkayo last week and there have been multiple attacks against Puntland troops stationed there.[9]