The Yemeni revolution, also known as the Yemeni intifada, was a series of major anti-government protests and armed uprisings that raged through Yemen from January 2011 to February 2012. It occurred concurrently with the Arab Spring that broke out throughout the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. In its early phase, protests in Yemen were initially against unemployment, economic conditions, corruption, and the authoritarian regime led by President Ali Abdullah Saleh as well as against the government's proposals to modify Yemen's constitution. The protesters' demands then escalated to calls for the resignation of Saleh. Mass defections from the military, as well as from Saleh's government, effectively rendered much of the country outside of the government's control, and protesters vowed to defy its authority.
A major demonstration of over 16,000 protesters took place in Sanaa, Yemen's capital, on 27 January. On 2 February, Saleh announced he would not run for reelection in 2013 and that he would not pass power to his son. On 3 February, 20,000 people protested against the government in Sanaa, while others protested in Aden, a southern Yemeni seaport city, in a "Day of Rage" called for by Tawakkol Karman, while soldiers, armed members of the General People's Congress and many protesters held a pro-government rally in Sanaa. In a "Friday of Anger" on 18 February, tens of thousands of Yemenis took part in anti-government demonstrations in Taiz, Sanaa and Aden. On a "Friday of No Return" on 11 March, protesters called for Saleh's ousting in Sanaa where three people were killed. More protests were held in other cities, including Mukalla, where one person was killed. On 18 March, protesters in Sanaa were fired upon, resulting in 52 deaths and ultimately culminating in mass defections and resignations.
Starting in late April, Saleh agreed to a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal, only to back away hours before the scheduled signing three times. After the third time, on 22 May, the GCC declared it was suspending its efforts to mediate in Yemen. On 23 May, a day after Saleh refused to sign the transition agreement, Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, the head of the Hashid tribal federation, one of the most powerful tribes in the country, declared support for the opposition and his armed supporters came into conflict with loyalist security forces in the capital Sanaa. Heavy street fighting ensued, which included artillery and mortar shelling. Saleh and several others were injured and at least five people were killed by a 3 June bombing of the presidential compound when an explosion ripped through a mosque used by high-level government officials for prayer services. Reports conflicted as to whether the attack was caused by shelling or a planted bomb. The next day, Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi took over as acting president while Saleh flew to Saudi Arabia to be treated. The crowds celebrated Saleh's transfer of power, but Yemeni officials insisted that Saleh's absence was temporary and he would soon return to Yemen to resume his duties of office.
In early July, the government rejected the opposition's demands, including the formation of a transitional council with the goal of formally transferring power from the current administration to a caretaker government intended to oversee Yemen's first-ever democratic elections. In response, factions of the opposition announced the formation of their own 17-member transitional council on 16 July, though the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) that have functioned as an umbrella for many of the Yemeni opposition groups during the uprising said the council did not represent them and did not match their "plan" for the country.
On 23 November, Saleh signed a power-transfer agreement brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh, under which he would transfer his power to his vice-president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, within 30 days and leave his post as president by February 2012, in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Although the GCC deal was accepted by the JMP, it was rejected by many of the protesters and the Houthis. A presidential election was held in Yemen on 21 February 2012, with Hadi running unopposed. A report claims that the election had a 65% turnout, with Hadi receiving 99.8% of the vote. Hadi took the oath of office in Yemen's parliament on 25 February 2012. Saleh returned home on the same day to attend Hadi's inauguration. After months of protests, Saleh resigned from the presidency on 27 February 2012 and formally transferred power to his successor, marking the end of his 33-year rule.
The Yemeni revolution, also known as the Yemeni intifada, was a series of major anti-government protests and armed uprisings that raged through Yemen from January 2011 to February 2012. It occurred concurrently with the Arab Spring that broke out throughout the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. In its early phase, protests in Yemen were initially against unemployment, economic conditions, corruption, and the authoritarian regime led by President Ali Abdullah Saleh as well as against the government's proposals to modify Yemen's constitution. The protesters' demands then escalated to calls for the resignation of Saleh. Mass defections from the military, as well as from Saleh's government, effectively rendered much of the country outside of the government's control, and protesters vowed to defy its authority.
A major demonstration of over 16,000 protesters took place in Sanaa, Yemen's capital, on 27 January. On 2 February, Saleh announced he would not run for reelection in 2013 and that he would not pass power to his son. On 3 February, 20,000 people protested against the government in Sanaa, while others protested in Aden, a southern Yemeni seaport city, in a "Day of Rage" called for by Tawakkol Karman, while soldiers, armed members of the General People's Congress and many protesters held a pro-government rally in Sanaa. In a "Friday of Anger" on 18 February, tens of thousands of Yemenis took part in anti-government demonstrations in Taiz, Sanaa and Aden. On a "Friday of No Return" on 11 March, protesters called for Saleh's ousting in Sanaa where three people were killed. More protests were held in other cities, including Mukalla, where one person was killed. On 18 March, protesters in Sanaa were fired upon, resulting in 52 deaths and ultimately culminating in mass defections and resignations.
Starting in late April, Saleh agreed to a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal, only to back away hours before the scheduled signing three times. After the third time, on 22 May, the GCC declared it was suspending its efforts to mediate in Yemen. On 23 May, a day after Saleh refused to sign the transition agreement, Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, the head of the Hashid tribal federation, one of the most powerful tribes in the country, declared support for the opposition and his armed supporters came into conflict with loyalist security forces in the capital Sanaa. Heavy street fighting ensued, which included artillery and mortar shelling. Saleh and several others were injured and at least five people were killed by a 3 June bombing of the presidential compound when an explosion ripped through a mosque used by high-level government officials for prayer services. Reports conflicted as to whether the attack was caused by shelling or a planted bomb. The next day, Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi took over as acting president while Saleh flew to Saudi Arabia to be treated. The crowds celebrated Saleh's transfer of power, but Yemeni officials insisted that Saleh's absence was temporary and he would soon return to Yemen to resume his duties of office.
In early July, the government rejected the opposition's demands, including the formation of a transitional council with the goal of formally transferring power from the current administration to a caretaker government intended to oversee Yemen's first-ever democratic elections. In response, factions of the opposition announced the formation of their own 17-member transitional council on 16 July, though the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) that have functioned as an umbrella for many of the Yemeni opposition groups during the uprising said the council did not represent them and did not match their "plan" for the country.
On 23 November, Saleh signed a power-transfer agreement brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh, under which he would transfer his power to his vice-president, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, within 30 days and leave his post as president by February 2012, in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Although the GCC deal was accepted by the JMP, it was rejected by many of the protesters and the Houthis. A presidential election was held in Yemen on 21 February 2012, with Hadi running unopposed. A report claims that the election had a 65% turnout, with Hadi receiving 99.8% of the vote. Hadi took the oath of office in Yemen's parliament on 25 February 2012. Saleh returned home on the same day to attend Hadi's inauguration. After months of protests, Saleh resigned from the presidency on 27 February 2012 and formally transferred power to his successor, marking the end of his 33-year rule.
It was also facing a conflict with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as a revolt from South Yemen secessionists, who wanted to see the old South Yemen reconstituted. In addition, there was a Shia rebellion by Zaidi rebels, known as the Houthis. In the years leading up to the revolution Yemen also faced large-scale civil unrest, including protests in July 2005 over fuel price hikes which led to the deaths of 36 people.
Before his ouster, Ali Abdullah Saleh had been president of Yemen, and previously North Yemen, for 33 years. and many believed his son Ahmed Saleh was being groomed to eventually replace him.
Almost half of the population of Yemen lives below the poverty line, and one-third suffer from chronic hunger. Yemen ranks 146th in the Transparency International 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, and 8th in the 2012 Failed States Index (up two places from 2010).
A draft amendment to the constitution of Yemen was under discussion in parliament despite opposition protests. The amendment sought to allow Saleh to remain in the office of president for life. He urged the opposition to take part in an election on 27 April to avoid "political suicide."
The parliament's mandate was extended by two years after an agreement in February 2009 between the ruling General People's Congress and opposition parties seeking a dialogue on political reforms such as moving from a presidential system to a proportional representation parliamentary system and a more decentralised government. Neither measure was subsequently implemented.
Timeline
Protests
In January 2011, shortly after the popular ouster of the Tunisian government, major street protests materialized in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, to demand governmental changes. Protests spread to the traditionally restive south, with particularly aggressive protests in cities like Aden and Taiz. Initially, demonstrators protested against a plan to amend the constitution and over the country's sluggish economy and high jobless rates. However, protests grew larger by late January and took on an increasingly pointed tone of criticism toward President Ali Abdullah Saleh, with many demonstrators beginning to call openly for new leadership in Yemen, including at least 10,000 at Sanaa University.
By February, opposition leader Tawakel Karman called for a "Day of Rage" in the mold of mass nationwide demonstrations that helped to topple the government of Tunisia and put pressure on the government of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. The protest drew more than 20,000 participants, as well as a show of force from Saleh's supporters. Security forces responded to protests in Aden with live ammunition and tear gas. After Mubarak quit power in Egypt, demonstrators celebrating the revolution and calling for a similar uprising in Yemen were attacked by police and pro-Saleh tribesmen. Clerics called for a national unity government and elections to be held in six months in an effort to quell violence and place members of the opposition in government. Later in the month, deaths were reported in Taiz and Aden after security forces attacked protesters with lethal force. By the end of February, several major tribes in Yemen had joined the anti-government protests and protests swelled in size to well over 100,000 on several days. Saleh also called for a national unity government, but opposition leaders rejected the proposal and called for Saleh to step down immediately.
In March, opposition groups presented a proposal that would see Saleh leave power peacefully, but Saleh refused to accept it. A number of prominent Yemeni government officials resigned over the violence used to disperse protests. On 18 March 45 protestors were shot dead in Sanaa, an incident that prompted the declaration of a state of emergency and international condemnation. Several days later, Saleh indicated that he would be willing to leave power by the end of the year or even sooner, but he later affirmed that he would not step down. By the end of March, six of Yemen's 18 governorates were out of the government's control, officials said.
Mediation attempts
In April, the Gulf Co-operation Council attempted to mediate an end to the crisis, drafting several proposals for a transition of power. Toward the end of the month, Saleh signaled he would accept a plan that would see him leave power one month after signing and provided for a national unity government in the lead-up to elections. By the end of the month, though, Saleh reversed course and the government announced he would not sign it, putting the GCC initiative on hold.
In early May, officials again indicated that Saleh would sign the GCC deal, and the opposition agreed to sign as well if Saleh signed it personally in his capacity as president. However, Saleh again backed away, saying the deal did not require his signature, and the opposition followed suit, accusing Saleh of negotiating in bad faith. Protests and violence across the country intensified in the wake of this second reversal by Saleh.
In late May, opposition leaders received assurances that Saleh would sign the GCC plan after all, and they signed the deal the day before the president was scheduled to ink it as well. Saleh however once again decided not to sign, and a brief but tense standoff occurred on 22 May when Saleh's supporters surrounded the embassy building of the United Arab Emirates in Sanaa, trapping international diplomats (including the secretary-general of the GCC) inside until the government dispatched a helicopter to ferry them to the presidential palace.
Uprising
On 23 May, a day after Saleh refused to sign the transition agreement, Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, the head of the Hashid tribal federation, one of the most powerful tribes in the country, declared support for the opposition and his armed supporters came into conflict with loyalist security forces in the capital Sanaa after Saleh ordered al-Ahmar's arrest. Heavy street fighting ensued, which included artillery and mortar shelling. The militiamen had surrounded and blocked off several government buildings in the capital and people on the ground were reporting that it looked like the situation was deteriorating into a civil war.
As the situation in Sanaa was developing, about 300 Islamist militants attacked and captured the coastal city of Zinjibar (population 20,000) (see Battle of Zinjibar). During the takeover of the town, the militants killed seven soldiers, including a colonel, and one civilian. Two more soldiers were killed in clashes with militants in Lawdar.
On day three of the fighting, military units that defected to the opposition were hit for the first time by mortar fire killing three soldiers and wounding 10. By the evening, it was reported that tribesmen took control of the Interior Ministry building, SABA state news agency, and the national airline building.
A ceasefire was announced late on 27 May, by al-Ahmar, and the next day, a truce was established.
Opposition demonstrators had occupied the main square of Taiz since the start of the uprising against the rule of president Saleh. The protests were for the most part peaceful. However, that changed on 29 May, when the military started an operation to crush the protests and clear the demonstrators from their camp at the square. Troops reportedly fired live ammunition and from water cannons on the protesters, burned their tents and bulldozers ran over some of them. The opposition described the event as a massacre. (see 2011 Battle of Taiz)
However, by 31 May, the ceasefire had broken down and street fighting continued in Sanaa. Tribesmen had taken control of both the headquarters of the ruling General People's Congress (Yemen) and the main offices of the water utility.
On 1 June, units of the loyalist Presidential Guard, commanded by one of Saleh's sons, shelled the headquarters of an army brigade belonging to the defected 1st Armored Division, even though the defected military units were holding a neutral position in the conflict between the loyalists and the tribesmen. The worst of the fighting was in the northern Hassaba neighborhood, where tribal fighters seized a number of government ministries and buildings. Government artillery fire heavily damaged the house of al-Ahmar and the government cut the area's electricity and water supplies. The government units, led by one of Saleh's sons, and loyalist special forces attacked but failed to recapture the Hassaba administrative building. Tribal fighters also seized the office of the General Prosecutor in the city's northwest. They were backed up by two armored vehicles from the 1st Armored Division. The Interior Ministry stated that the tribesmen had also captured a five-story building in the pro-Saleh Hadda neighborhood. During the 24 hours since the breakdown of the ceasefire, 47 people were killed on both sides during the heavy street fighting, including 15 tribesmen and 14 soldiers.
Presidential Palace assassination attempt
On 3 June, a bombing at the presidential palace left Saleh injured and seven other top government officials wounded. Saleh, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the parliament chief, the governor of Sanaa and a presidential aide were wounded while they were praying at a mosque inside the palace compound. Saleh was initially said to be injured in the neck and treated on the scene; later reports indicated his wounds were far more severe – including a collapsed lung and burns over 40% of his body. Four presidential guards and Sheikh Ali Mohsen al-Matari, an imam at the mosque, were killed.
As Saleh flew to the Saudi capital of Riyadh for surgery on 4 June, a cease-fire was brokered by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansur al-Hadi took over as acting president and supreme commander of the Armed Forces. Despite the ceasefire, sporadic violence continued in the capital. Saleh's powerful sons also remained in Yemen instead of traveling to Saudi Arabia with their father.
On 6 July the government rejected the opposition's demands, including the formation of a transitional council with the goal of formally transferring power from the current administration to a caretaker government intended to oversee Yemen's first-ever democratic election. In response, factions of the opposition announced the formation of their own 17-member transitional council on 16 July, though the Joint Meeting Parties that functioned as an umbrella for many of the Yemeni opposition groups during the uprising said the council did not represent them and did not match their "plan" for the country.
On 6 August Saleh left the hospital in Saudi Arabia, but he did not return to Yemen.
On 18 September troops loyal to president Saleh opened fire on protesters in Sanaa, killing at least 26 people and injuring hundreds. Witnesses said security forces and armed civilians opened fire on protesters who left Change Square, where they had camped since February demanding regime change, and marched towards the city centre. Earlier on that day, government troops fired mortars into Al-Hasaba district in Sanaa, home to opposition tribal chief Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar who claimed his fighters did not return fire after they were shelled by the Republican Guard.