Opposition: Government: Sadiq al-Ahmar Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar Hameed Al-Qushaibi Ali Salem al Beidh Abdul Malik al-Houthi Ali Abdullah Saleh Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi Ahmed Saleh Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani Ahmed bin Saeed Ali Nasser Gatami † Ansar al-Shariah campaign (2011–14) Houthi rebellion (2014) Bombings and terrorist attacks in Yemen Houthi missile and drone attacks in Yemen Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia Houthi attacks on the United Arab Emirates U.S. raids on al-Qaeda Military operations Diplomacy Effects The Yemeni revolution (or Yemeni intifada)[18] followed the initial stages of the Tunisian Revolution and occurred simultaneously with the 2011 Egyptian revolution[19] and other Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa.

[26] Starting in late April, Saleh agreed to a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered deal, only to back away hours before the scheduled signing three times.

[28][29][30] 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.

[35] 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 Mansur Hadi, within 30 days and leave his post as president by February 2012, in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

[40] 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.

[50] In January 2011, shortly after the popular ouster of the Tunisian government, major street protests materialized in Sanaʽa, the Yemeni capital, to demand governmental changes.

[2] 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,[20] including at least 10,000 at Sanaʽa University.

[23] 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.

[71] In April, the Gulf Co-operation Council attempted to mediate an end to the crisis, drafting several proposals for a transition of power.

[80] 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 Sanaʽa after Saleh ordered al-Ahmar's arrest.

[28][29][30] The militiamen had surrounded and blocked off several government buildings in the capital[81] and people on the ground were reporting that it looked like the situation was deteriorating into a civil war.

[83][84] 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.

The government units, led by one of Saleh's sons, and loyalist special forces attacked but failed to recapture the Hassaba administrative building.

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.

[102] On 18 September troops loyal to president Saleh opened fire on protesters in Sana'a, killing at least 26 people and injuring hundreds.

[103] On 19 September snipers in nearby buildings again opened fire on Monday at peaceful demonstrators and passers-by in the capital's Change Square, killing at least 28 people and wounded more than 100.

[105] On 22 September fighting broke out between Republican Guard troops commanded by Saleh's son Ahmed, and dissidents loyal to General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar.

[107] As of 1 October 2011, Human Rights Watch was able to confirm 225 deaths and over 1000 wounded, many from firearms, since the Arab Spring protests began in Yemen.

[127] On 23 March, Saleh, in a letter passed to opposition groups, offered to hold a referendum on a new constitution, then a parliamentary election, followed by a presidential poll before the end of 2011.

[128] On 24 March, Saleh issued a statement that he "has accepted the five points submitted by the JMP, including formation of a government of national unity and a national committee to draft a new constitution, drafting a new electoral law, and holding a constitutional referendum, parliamentary elections and a presidential vote by the end of the year[129] although it was later reported that negotiations between Saleh and the opposition had stalled.

[130] On 30 March, at a meeting with Mohammed al-Yadoumi, head of the Islah party, Yemen's president made a new offer, proposing he stays in office until elections are held at the end of the year but transferring his powers to a caretaker government, with a prime-minister appointed by the opposition.

[151] The Yemeni government's response to protests prompted a backlash even from traditional allies like the United States[152] and Saudi Arabia.

"[155] On 7 October 2011, Tawakul Karman was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her visible role as a woman in the Arab Spring movement and as a human right activist in Yemen.

Islah, which currently holds about twenty per cent of the seats in the legislature, includes some members of the Ahmar family, Yemen's Muslim Brotherhood, and Salafi preacher Abdul Majid al-Zindani, labeled a "specially designated global terrorist" by the US.

Some political parties have called for reform to take place under President Saleh, while students and human rights activists have wished to "channel the momentum of the 2010–2011 uprisings in the region.

"[159] On 21 March, the Financial Times reported that in the absence of obvious candidates for the presidency, the transition of power is likely to be controlled by those who made the pre-emptive strike against him: Hamid al-Ahmar of Islah and the JMP, radical cleric Abdul Majid al-Zindani, and Islamist-allied General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar (also called Ali Mohsen Saleh).

[161] A growing number of protesters in the north sees with interest the rise of the South Yemen Movement, maybe hoping that the southern secessionists may overthrow the government.

[citation needed] On 6 March, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed responsibility for the shooting of five soldiers two separate attacks during the ongoing protests.

[163] On 2 March, six members of the JMP issued a five-point list of demands: right to demonstrate, investigations into violence, peaceful transition of government, time schedule within current year, and dialogue with those both inside and outside of Yemen.

[169] On 8 April 2011, the Civil Coalition of Youth Revolution (CCYR), a Yemen-based civil movement which includes 52 alliances of revolutionary youth activists around Yemen representing more than 10,000 members, released its Statute Draft including its "vision, revolution objectives, principles, duties, mechanisms and goals of the interim phase".