Uprising and dialogue

I · January–March 2011The uprising

Protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule began in late January 2011 and spread across Yemen. In Sanaa, protesters camped in Change Square for about ten months.¹² The Houthis joined them. In February Abdulmalik al-Houthi declared his support for the protesters, and Houthi supporters marched peacefully alongside other Yemenis.¹² ■ Documented

Saleh’s crackdown killed hundreds of protesters, by different estimates between 200 and 2,000.³ In June 2011 he was badly wounded in a bomb attack on his palace mosque and flown to Saudi Arabia for treatment. He returned in September.³ ■ Documented · figures disputed

II · 2011Saada becomes theirs

As the state’s attention turned to Sanaa, the Houthis moved at home. In March 2011 they took control of Saada governorate and set up their own administration.¹ That year the movement also formally organised itself under the name Ansar Allah, “Supporters of God”, with a council headed by Abdulmalik.⁴ Through the rest of 2011, fighting spread across Saada, Hajja, al-Jawf and Amran.¹ ■ Documented

III · November 2011–February 2012The Gulf deal

On 23 November 2011, in Riyadh, Saleh signed a power-transfer agreement brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council. He handed power to his vice-president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, in return for immunity from prosecution.⁵ The Houthis rejected the deal because of that immunity.¹ In February 2012 Hadi was sworn in as president after an election in which he was the only candidate.³ ■ Documented

Saleh left the presidency, but not politics. He remained head of the General People’s Congress, and in 2014 the UN Security Council accused him of backing violent groups to undermine the transition.⁸ ■ Documented

IV · 2012–2013Fighting the rivals

Through 2012 the Houthis fought supporters of the Islah party and Salafi groups across the northern governorates.¹ The longest of these battles was at Dammaj in Saada, where Houthi forces besieged the Salafi school of Dar al-Hadith. The fighting there ended only with a government-brokered ceasefire in January 2014.⁹ ■ Documented

V · March 2013–February 2014The National Dialogue

The National Dialogue Conference brought Yemen’s parties, including the Houthis, together for ten months to agree on a new political order. It concluded in January 2014.³ Two Houthi delegates were assassinated during it. Abdulkarim Jadban, a member of parliament, was shot dead in November 2013. On 21 January 2014, Ahmad Sharafeddin, a law professor, was shot as he drove to the talks. The killers escaped.⁶ ■ Documented

In February 2014 a presidential panel approved a plan to divide Yemen into six federal regions. The Houthis rejected it. Their spokesman said it divided the country into poor and wealthy regions, and that the region containing Saada had no significant resources and no access to the sea.⁷ ■ Documented

Within months, the movement was marching south. ■ Documented · see Chapter 04