[ii]An Aden-based journalist reported that Southern Transitional Council (STC) -backed forces stopped a Saudi military convoy from entering a security checkpoint in Aden, Yemen on March 15. [iii]A southern Yemeni newspaper reported that a likely al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) IED targeted an STC-backed 1st Support and Reinforcement Brigade supply convoy in al Mahfad district, Abyan governorate, southern Yemen, on March 17. [v] The Somali national security advisor announced on March 2 that a joint operation between Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Ethiopia would commence within eight weeks. [vi] This joint operation will be the second phase of the Somali government’s counterterrorism offensive. [vii]The Somali defense minister and the US ambassador to Somalia agreed to provide additional training and equipment to the US-trained Danab special forces operating against al Shabaab in Somalia during a meeting on March 16.

Source: Wall Street Journal March 17, 2023 23:21 UTC