Presidential Palace, Yemen

Last updated

The Presidential Palace, also known as the Republican Palace, was the official residence of the President of Yemen. It was located in the al-Sabeen neighborhood of southern Sana'a, Yemen, near Saleh Mosque and al-Sabeen Square (where many pro-Ali Abdullah Saleh political rallies and military parades were held when Ali Abdullah Saleh was in power). The palace area was a heavy security zone, guarded by the Presidential Defense Forces (formerly the Republican Guard) and was not open to the public.

On June 3, 2011, during the 2011 Yemeni Revolution, the Presidential Palace was subject to an assassination attack on President Saleh and many government and state officials by opposition tribesmen. It left Saleh injured and seven other top government officials wounded. Saleh, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the parliament chief, the governor of Sana'a and a presidential aide were wounded while they were praying at a mosque inside the palace compound. [1] Four presidential guards [2] and Sheikh Ali Mohsen al-Matari, an imam at the mosque, were killed. [3]

On January 20, 2015, the palace was taken over by the Houthis rebel group. President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi was present but was not harmed. [4]

On May 7, 2018, targeted airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition left the palace "completely flattened" and damaged surrounding buildings. At least six fatalities and thirty injuries are reported. [5]

15°18′55″N44°12′49″E / 15.31521°N 44.213619°E / 15.31521; 44.213619

Notes

  1. Jamjoom, Mohammed "." CNN, 8 June 2011.
  2. , Deseret News, 3 June 2011
  3. , CNN
  4. "Yemen Houthi rebels 'seize presidential palace'". BBC News. 20 January 2015.
  5. "Saudi airstrikes hit presidency building in Yemen, killing 6". 7 May 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2018.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yemeni Armed Forces</span> Combined military forces of Yemen

The Yemeni Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Yemen. They include the Yemeni Army, Yemeni Navy and the Yemeni Air Force. The capital of the country, Sana’a is where the military is headquartered. Per the constitution of Yemen, the President of Yemen serves as the commander-in-chief.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Abdullah Saleh</span> Yemeni Politician (1942–2017) President of North Yemen, then Yemen (1978–2012)

Ali Abdullah Saleh al-Ahmar was a Yemeni politician who served as the first President of the Republic of Yemen, from Yemeni unification on 22 May 1990, to his resignation on 27 February 2012, following the Yemeni Revolution. Previously, he had served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic, or North Yemen, from July 1978, to 22 May 1990, after the assassination of President Ahmad al-Ghashmi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houthi insurgency</span> 2004–2014 political-religious armed movement escalating into the Yemeni Civil War

The Houthi insurgency, also known as the Houthi rebellion, the Sa'dah War, or the Sa'dah conflict, was a military rebellion pitting Zaidi Shia Houthis against the Yemeni military that began in Northern Yemen and has since escalated into a full-scale civil war. The conflict was sparked in 2004 by the government's attempt to arrest Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a Zaidi religious leader of the Houthis and a former parliamentarian on whose head the government had placed a $55,000 bounty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Saleh Mosque</span> Mosque in Sanaa, Yemen

Al-Saleh Mosque is a modern mosque in Sana'a that is the largest in Yemen. It lies in the southern outskirts of the city, south of the Al Sabeen Maternal Hospital. Originally named "Al Saleh Mosque", it was inaugurated in November 2008 by the late Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The mosque, 27,300 square metres (294,000 sq ft) in size, has a central hall that is 13,596 square metres (146,350 sq ft) with an occupancy capacity of 44,000. The building cost nearly US$60 million to construct. Open to non-Muslims, the mosque is frequented by tourists, and promotes moderate Islam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi</span> President of Yemen from 2012 to 2022

Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi is a Yemeni politician and former field marshal of the Yemeni Armed Forces who served as the president of Yemen from 2012 until 2022, when he stepped down and transferred executive authority to the Presidential Leadership Council, with Rashad al-Alimi as its chairman. He was the vice president to Ali Abdullah Saleh from 1994 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yemeni revolution</span> Yemeni upheaval occurring simultaneously with the Arab Spring (2011)

The Yemeni revolution followed the initial stages of the Tunisian Revolution and occurred simultaneously with the 2011 Egyptian revolution and other Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa. In its early phase, protests in Yemen were initially against unemployment, economic conditions and corruption, as well as against the government's proposals to modify Yemen's constitution. The protesters' demands then escalated to calls for the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Mass defections from the military, as well as from Saleh's government, effectively rendered much of the country outside of the government's control, and protesters vowed to defy its authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar</span> Yemeni general

Ali Mohsen Saleh al-Ahmar, sometimes spelled Muhsin, is a Yemeni military officer who served as the vice president of Yemen from 2016 to 2022, when he was dismissed by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who transferred the powers of the president and vice president to the Presidential Leadership Council. He is a general in the Yemeni Army and was the commander of the northwestern military district and the 1st Armoured Division. He played a leading role in the creation of the General People's Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Sanaa (2011)</span> Battle of the Yemeni Revolution

The Battle of Sanaa was a battle during the 2011 Yemeni uprising between forces loyal to Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and opposition tribal forces led by Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar for control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa and, on the part of the opposition, for the purpose of the downfall of president Saleh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Yemeni revolution (3 June – 22 September 2011)</span>

The following is a timeline of the 2011–2012 Yemeni revolution from 3 June through 22 September 2011. The Yemeni revolution was a series of major protests, political tensions, and armed clashes taking place in Yemen, which began in January 2011 and were influenced by concurrent protests in the region. Hundreds of protesters, members of armed groups, army soldiers and security personnel were killed, and many more injured, in the largest protests to take place in the South Arabian country for decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houthi takeover in Yemen</span> 2014–2015 revolution after the capture of the capital, Sanaa

The Houthi takeover in Yemen, also known as the September 21 Revolution, or 2014–15 coup d'état, was a popular revolution against Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi led by the Houthis and their supporters that pushed the Yemeni government from power. It had origins in Houthi-led protests that began the previous month, and escalated when the Houthis stormed the Yemeni capital Sanaa on 21 September 2014, causing the resignation of Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa, and later the resignation of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and his ministers on 22 January 2015 after Houthi forces seized the presidential palace, residence, and key military installations, and the formation of a ruling council by Houthi militants on 6 February 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 in Yemen</span> List of events

The following lists events that happened in 2015 in Yemen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yemeni crisis</span> Ongoing crisis occurring in the country of Yemen

The Yemeni crisis began with the 2011–2012 revolution against President Abdullah Saleh, who had led Yemen for 33 years. After Saleh left office in early 2012 as part of a mediated agreement between the Yemeni government and opposition groups, the government led by Saleh's former vice president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, struggled to unite the fractious political landscape of the country and fend off threats both from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and from Houthi militants that had been waging a protracted insurgency in the north for years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Sanaa (2014)</span> Houthi capture of Sanaa from the Hadi-led government

The Battle of Sanaa in 2014 marked the advance of the Houthis into Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, and heralded the beginning of the armed takeover of the government that unfolded over the following months. Fighting began on 9 September 2014, when pro-Houthi protesters under the command of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi marched on the cabinet office and were fired upon by security forces, leaving seven dead. The clashes escalated on 18 September, when 40 were killed in an armed confrontation between the Houthis led by military commander Mohammed Ali al-Houthi and supporters of the Sunni hardliner Islah Party when the Houthis tried to seize Yemen TV, and 19 September, with more than 60 killed in clashes between Houthi fighters and the military and police in northern Sanaa. By 21 September, the Houthis captured the government headquarters, marking the fall of Sanaa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen</span>

The aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen refers to developments following the Houthis' takeover of the Yemeni capital of Sana'a and dissolution of the government, which eventually led to a civil war and the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.

The Battle of Aden International Airport broke out in the early morning hours of 19 March 2015, when Yemen Army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh attacked the airport in Aden, Yemen. The airport was defended by soldiers and guards supporting Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, Yemen's internationally recognised president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Aden (2015)</span> Battle of the Yemeni Civil War

The Battle of Aden was a battle for the control of Aden, Yemen, between Houthis rebels and Yemen Army forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh on one side, and Yemen Army units loyal to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and Southern Movement militias on the other side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war</span> Saudi war against Houthis in Yemen launched in 2015

On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched an intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 by Houthi insurgents during the Yemeni Civil War. Efforts by the United Nations to facilitate a power sharing arrangement under a new transitional government collapsed, leading to escalating conflict between government forces, Houthi rebels, and other armed groups, which culminated in Hadi fleeing to Saudi Arabia shortly before it began military operations in the country.

The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Sanaa (2017)</span> Battle fought in 2017

The Battle of Sanaa (2017) was fought between forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a. Both sides were allied during the 2014–15 Houthi takeover of the government but the alliance ended when Saleh decided to break ranks with the Houthis and call for dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who are leading a military intervention in Yemen. Fighting then broke out between the Houthis and forces loyal to Saleh as the Saudi-led coalition began bombing Houthi areas, ultimately resulting in Saleh's death and a Houthi victory.

Al-Nahdayn Mountain is one of the mountains that overlooks the Yemeni capital Sanaa from the south and directly overlooks the Presidential House from the south as well. The mountain consists of two separate hills and is considered a medium-height mountain, as it rises about 300 meters above the surrounding area.