YEMEN: Timeline since
signing of power transfer deal
Source: IRIN
Since the signing of a
power transfer deal sponsored by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in November,
Yemen has seen further protests and violence, and some key players, like
the Houthi-led
Shia rebels in the north, oppose tomorrow’s presidential election.
IRIN surveys the main events of the past two months.
23 November 2012: President Ali
Abdullah Saleh signs GCC-brokered deal, under which he leaves power on 21
February 2012 in exchange for legal immunity from prosecution.
25 November: Tens of thousands
of protesters rally in Sana’a and 17 main cities on the so-called “Friday of
Ongoing Revolution”. They oppose immunity for Saleh and his aides.
10 December: A 34-member
coalition cabinet sworn in (17 members from Saleh’s party and 17 from the
opposition Joint Meeting Parties)
15-20 December: Mass protests
by staff at dozens of government and military institutions call for the
replacement of top officials who are members of Saleh’s party.
18 December: A demilitarization
committee, made up of 14 senior officers from pro-government and defected army
units, begins removing sandbags, roadblocks and checkpoints in Sana’a.
23 December: Fourteen
protesters killed in clashes with police as a “March of Life” arrives in Sana’a
after a five-day, 250km, walk from Taiz city. They oppose the GCC deal.
25 December: Thousands of
Southern Movement (SM) supporters take to the streets of Aden; dozens burn
voting IDs to signal their intention of boycotting the presidential election.
29 December: Saleh meets senior
members of his party, instructing them how to deal with mass staff protests in
several government institutions.
30 December: Saleh’s supporters
resume Friday rallies in Sabeen square under the slogan “We return since you
don’t cease” (a reference to demands for Saleh’s prosecution).
4 January 2012: Defected
Maj-Gen Ali Mohsen Saleh escapes assassination attempt in Sana’a.
6 January: Vice-President Hadi
threatens to leave Yemen after senior members of Saleh’s party accuse him of
defying Saleh’s authority - even calling him a traitor.
8 January: Cabinet proposes
draft immunity-from-prosecution legislation for Saleh and his aides, presents
it to parliament.
10 January: Draft immunity
legislation opposed by some MPs. Anti immunity bill “March of Dignity” arrives
in Sana’a after a five-day, 240km, walk from Sa’dah.
11 January: Demilitarization
Committee gives 48-hour deadline for gunmen loyal to Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar to
leave Sana’a.
12 January: At least 26 killed
and dozens injured in clashes between fighters from a Sunni Salafi Islamist
group and Houthi-led Shia rebels in Hajour area, south of Sa’dah city.
13 January: Seven killed and
more than 25 injured in clashes between SM and police in the southern port city
of Aden.
14 January: Hadi refuses to
submit his nomination credentials for the elections until defected army units
remove their checkpoints in northwestern Sana’a.
15 January: Armed tribesmen
kidnap a Norwegian UN official in Sana’a, demand release of a jailed tribal
leader.
16 January: Islamic militants
overrun Radaa city, Beidha Governorate, kill three policemen and release 400
militants from the central prison.
20 January: At least five
killed in clashes between Islamist militants and civilians in Radaa city.
21 January: Parliament passes
Immunity Law and approves nomination of Hadi as the sole presidential
candidate. Thousands of young protesters in Sana’a take to the streets in
protest against the new law.
22 January: Saleh leaves Sana’a
for Oman, prior to going to the USA for medical treatment, says he will return
to Yemen for Hadi’s inauguration after the election.
23 January: Thousands of
members of the Air Force in Sana’a and Taiz begin protests against their
commander Gen Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar, a half brother of Saleh, demanding his
replacement.
24 January: Some 46 armed men
killed and dozens injured in clashes between Houthi-led Shia rebels and
tribesmen in Hajjah Governorate.
27 January: Tens of thousands
protest in Sana’a and other main cities against Saleh’s immunity.
28 January: Pro-SM gunmen burn
down branch office of the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referendum
(SCER) in Dhalea Governorate.
29 January: SCER begins
training election management committees in governorates.
31 January: Information
Minister Ahmad al-Amrani escapes assassination attempt in front of Cabinet
building. “I don’t know why they fired a barrage of bullets at my car. I have
no personal feuds with anyone,” he said.
3 February: More than 30
injured in Aden in clashes between election supporters and opponents.
5 February: Fifty-five killed
in clashes between Houthi-led Shia rebels and Sunni Salafi members in Ahim
District, Hajjah Governorate. Six killed in clashes between policemen and SM
supporters in the governorates of Dhalea and Hadhramaut.
7 February: Hadi launches his
electoral campaign in Sana’a. “The situation in Sana’a and other main cities is
still complicated, but we have to proceed with elections to save Yemen from
conflicts,” he said.
8 February: At least eight
inmates killed and several others, including policemen, injured in clashes with
police in Dhamar Governorate’s central prison.
9 February: Two killed and more
than 10 injured when gunmen attack SCER office in Dhalea Governorate.
10 February: Hundreds of
thousands protest in Sana’a and 14 main cities on what they call the Friday of
“Completing all Goals of Revolution”.
11 February: Some 18 Houthi
fighters killed in an ambush by tribesmen loyal to Sunni Salafis in the Jarabi
and Hazah areas, Hajjah Governorate.
12 February: SCER deploys
election management committees in the governorates. Saleh gives televised
speech from New York calling on his party supporters to take part in the
elections.
14 February: A suicide bomber
blows himself up in front of an SCER office in Aden Governorate, leading Hadi
to cancel campaign rallies in southern cities.
15 February: Houthi gunmen
storm office of Islamist Islah Party in Sa’dah, tear down all pictures of Hadi
in the city, and prevent any officials from putting up electoral posters.
16 February: Head of SCER
regional office, five staff members and a Republican Guard commander killed in
an ambush by gunmen in Beidha Governorate. One killed and another 20 injured in
clashes between SM members and election supporters in the eastern city of
Mukalla.
17 February: Hundreds of
thousands of protesters rally in Sana’a and other main cities on the so-called
Friday of “Your Vote is a Gain for the Revolution”, declaring their support for
Hadi.
19 February: Interior and
defence ministries deploy 103,000 officers and soldiers, especially in southern
governorates, to safeguard the electoral process.
20 February: One soldier
killed, five injured in attack on a SCER office in Khor Maksar District, Aden
Governorate. Citizens force election officials to leave two other offices in
the governorate.
