Hundreds have died since Yemen's Sunni-dominated government started a crackdown in January 2007 on rebels in the north it says are seeking to oust its secular administration and install Islamist rule.
Rebels led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi say they are defending their villages in the remote northern mountainous Saada province against government aggression. Conflict between Houthis and the government has raged on and off since 2004.
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2004 Houthi rebels embody a revivalist strand of the Zaydi branch of Shiite Islam * June-August - The cleric Hussein al-Houthi, a representative of the al-Haq party in the Yemeni parliament from 1993 to 1997, starts an armed rebellion against the central government known as al-Shabaab al-Mo’men (The Believing Youth).
The protests led by Houthi and his supporters turn into violent clashes with government troops. The situation escalates to a full-blown rebellion.
Casualties are estimated to range from 80 to more than 600.
* August - Court sentences 15 men on terror charges, including bombing of Limburg tanker in 2002.
* September - Houthi and a couple of his aides are killed during a government operation against the rebels. |
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2005 Yemeni soldiers on patrol outside the courthouse in Sanaa * March-April - The armed revolt continues under the leadership of a couple of the late Houthi's family members and their supporters. Casualties from the clashes with government troops are estimated at more than 200.
* May - President Saleh declares the northern rebellion has agreed to renounce their revolt in return for a pardon. However, minor clashes continue. |
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2006 * March - More than 600 of the late cleric followers, captured in 2004, are freed under an amnesty. |
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2007 * January-March - Clashes between security troops and Houthi rebels in the north kill and injure countless more Yemenis.
* June - Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, leader of the northern rebels, accepts a truce.
* August - In increased security measures, firearms and demonstrations without a permit are now forbidden for citizens in Sanaa. |
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2008 Yemen has been locked in fierce fighting with rebels since August * January - Clashes erupt between security forces and followers of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.
* March-April - Bomb attacks are aimed at police, official, diplomatic, foreign business and tourism targets. The U.S. embassy evacuates all non-essential personnel.
* April - Clashes erupt with troops in the south of Yemen during protests against suspected northern inequalities in state job allocation. Only one casualty is reported.
* September - The Yemeni U.S. embassy in Sanaa is attacked. Eighteen casualties are reported among which are six assailants. Six suspects are arrested.
* October - Suspected Islamist militants allegedly linked to Israeli intelligence are arrested. President Saleh demands a reform. |
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2009 * August - More than 100 Shia rebel casualities are reported by government troops in a major offensive in Saada. |
