Timeline of Yemen’s seven-year conflict

DUBAI: Yemen has for more than seven years been mired in a war pitting Iran-backed rebels against government forces.
The conflict has left about 380,000 people dead, according to the UN, either directly in the fighting or as a result of famine and disease.
The Houthi rebels advance from their stronghold in Yemen’s northern mountains to seize the capital Sanaa in September 2014.
They ally themselves with forces loyal to ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was toppled in a 2011 uprising, before overrunning the lifeline Red Sea port of Hodeidah.
In February 2015, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi flees to the second city Aden, on Yemen’s south coast.
The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen enters the conflict in March 2015 with airstrikes targeting the rebels.
Washington says it is contributing logistics and intelligence.
As the rebels advance on Aden, Hadi flees to Saudi Arabia.
The coalition’s intervention helps pro-government forces secure Aden.
In October, coalition forces take control of the Bab Al-Mandab strait at the southern gates of the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest and most strategic waterways.
In June 2018, government fighters backed by coalition ground forces launch an offensive to retake Hodeidah, a key entry point for humanitarian aid.
In December, following negotiations in Sweden, the UN announces a ceasefire in Hodeidah. But it is marred by clashes between rebels and pro-government soldiers.
The anti-Houthi camp is divided between southern separatists and northern unionists loyal to Hadi’s government.
The separatists occupy the presidential palace in Aden in January 2018.
In August 2019, separatists again clash with unionist troops.
A power-sharing agreement is negotiated.
The rebels escalate their attacks on Saudi Arabia, using drones and missiles.
A major hit on Sept. 14, 2019 on the giant Abqaiq oil processing plant and Khurais oil field affects the oil market.
Riyadh and Washington accuse Iran of being behind the attack, which it denies.
In February 2021, the US ends its support for the coalition’s military operations and removes the Houthis from a “terrorist” blacklist.
Shortly afterward, the rebels resume an offensive to seize Yemen’s oil-rich Marib province, the government’s last northern stronghold.
In January 2022, the rebels take aim at the UAE, first seizing an Emirati-flagged vessel in the Red Sea and then carrying out a drone and missile attack on an oil facility in Abu Dhabi that kills three workers.
In February, Washington announces it is sending the destroyer USS Cole and fighter jets to Abu Dhabi to bolster its defenses.
In March, the rebels carry out a new series of drone and missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities, one of which triggers a huge fire near Jeddah’s Formula One circuit with drivers on the track.
On March 26, the rebels call a unilateral three-day truce.
On March 29, the Saudi-led coalition announce their own ceasefire, which coincides with the opening of talks in the Saudi capital that the Houthis refused to attend.
A UN-brokered ceasefire, the first nationwide truce since 2016, starts on the first day of Ramadan on April 2.
The coalition also agrees to allow fuel shipments into Hodeidah and commercial flights to resume from rebel-held Sanaa, key rebel demands. The two sides trade allegations of violations but the ceasefire largely holds.
On April 5, President Hadi announces from Riyadh that he is handing his powers to a new leadership council.
Saudi Arabia welcomes the announcement and pledges $3 billion in aid and support, some of it to be paid by the UAE.

Timeline of Yemen’s seven-year conflict