Yemen: Allegation of Saudi military involvement in al-Huthi rebellion - timeline
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- October 2009. Shia Muslim al-Huthi rebels in the north-western province of Sa'adah claim to have clashed with Saudi Arabian forces at the site of building work for a fence along the border between the two countries.
- September 2009. Almost 90 people, the majority women, children, and the elderly, are killed when the air force attacks al-Huthi rebel positions in Sa'adah.
- August 2009. There is a serious escalation in fighting between government troops and al-Huthi fighters in the north-western province of Sa'adah.
- July 2009. Six suspected al-Qaida militants are sentenced to death for a spate of deadly attacks on government and Western targets.
- March 2009. Four South Korean tourists and a Yemeni are killed in a suicide bomb attack in the southern province of Hadramaut - Al-Qaida's wing in Yemen Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claims responsibility.
- February 2009. Following reports that Yemen had become the base for radical Islamist activities for the whole Arabian peninsula, the interior ministry launches a "comprehensive campaign" against suspected members of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
- September 2008. Islamist militants attack the US embassy in Sana'a (the capital), resulting in the deaths of at least 16 people (including six of the attackers) - no US officials or embassy employees are killed or injured.
- April 2008. Serious rioting erupts in southern Yemen, led by former army officers, political activists, and unemployed men who accuse the authorities in the north of "unequal treatment".
- December 2007. Renewed clashes break out in Sa'adah province between government troops and al-Huthi rebels.
- July 2007. A suicide car bomber attacks a group of tourists visiting the Bilkis (Queen of Sheba) temple in the north-eastern governorate of Marib killing seven Spanish people and two Yemenis.
- June 2007. The government and leaders of the al-Huthi rebellion in Sa'adah province sign a ceasefire agreement following diplomatic intervention by the government of Qatar.
- September 2006. The presidential election results in victory for the incumbent, Lt-Gen. Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in office since 1978.
- February 2006. A group of 23 prisoners, including 13 convicted al-Qaida militants, tunnel their way out of a military intelligence detention centre in Sana'a - the escapees included Jamal al-Badawi, who was serving a 15-year prison term for his involvement in the October 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole.
- September 2005. President Saleh announces an amnesty for all imprisoned supporters of the Shia rebel cleric Husain Badr al-Din al-Huthi.
- September 2004. The army announces that it has killed Husain Badr al-Din al-Huthi in Sa'adah.
- June 2004. The armed forces launch a three-month security operation against supporters of al-Huthi in Sa'adah.
- April 2003. The ruling General People's Congress (GPC), led by President Saleh wins an overwhelming victory in a general election, easily defeating the main opposition party, the Islamist Yemeni Alliance for Reform (al-Islah), and the Yemen Socialist Party (YSP), the former ruling party of South Yemen.
- November 2002. An unmanned CIA drone aircraft fires a rocket at a car in Marib province, killing Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harithi, a former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden believed to be one of the al-Qaida leader's senior lieutenants.
- October 2002. The French supertanker Limburg is badly damaged in an attack, blamed on al-Qaida, off the south Yemeni coast.
- November 2001. President Saleh visits the USA and tells President George W. Bush that Yemen is "a partner" in the fight against terrorism.
- October 2000. The US vessel USS Cole is damaged in a suicide attack off Aden which is subsequently blamed on al-Qaida - 17 US personnel are killed.
- March 1998. A court in Sana'a (the capital) sentences five leaders of the 1994 failed southern secession to death, in absentia.
- April 1997. The ruling GPC, led by President Saleh, wins an overwhelming victory in a general election.
- February 1995. Yemen and Saudi Arabia sign a memorandum of understanding aimed at resolving their border dispute.
- July 1994. The northern forces of President Saleh inflict a crushing military defeat on the southern "separatist" Democratic Republic of Yemen (DRY).
- May 1994. Months of increasing tension between the ruling elites in northern and southern Yemen finally explode into full-scale civil war - the South formally secedes as the DRY, thereby bringing to an end the troubled four-year-old merger of the two Yemens.
- October 1993. President Saleh is re-elected amidst a growing tension between the recently unified north and south.
- April 1993. A general election effectively completes the Yemeni unification process.
- May 1991. A new constitution for unified Yemen is approved by referendum.
- Oct 1990. Large numbers of Yemeni nationals are expelled from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states because of the Yemeni government's support for Iraq over its invasion of Kuwait.
- May 1990. North and South Yemen are unified as the Republic of Yemen, with Sana'a as its political capital and Aden as economic and commercial capital.
- July 1988. North Yemen's first general election takes place, for 128 seats in a new 159-member Consultative Council.
- January 1986. Six months of mounting tension between rival factions in the government of South Yemen culminate in open civil war - President Ali Nasser Mohammed flees the country and is replaced by Haider Abu Bakr al Attas.
- August 1983. The first session of the Yemen Council (established in December 1981 to plan for unification) is held in Sana'a.
- May 1983. President Saleh is re-elected unopposed for a second five-year term as president of North Yemen.
- March 1979. After a period of border hostilities, the leaders of North and South Yemen reach agreement in Kuwait on the unification of their two countries.
- December 1978. Abdel Fattah Ismail, secretary general of the newly formed YSP, is elected as the new president of South Yemen.
- June 1978. President Ahmed Hussein el Ghashmi of North Yemen is assassinated - Lt-Col Saleh is elected as the new president.
- June 1978. President Salem Rubayya Ali of South Yemen is ousted from power and executed by adversaries after several hours of fighting in Aden.
- October 1977. North Yemen's military ruler, Lt-Col Ibrahim Mohammed al Hamdi, is assassinated.
- June 1974. After a bloodless military coup, a seven-man Command Council led by Lt-Col Hamadi takes power in North Yemen.
- 1972. Border clashes erupt between North and South Yemen a ceasefire is brokered by the Arab League.
- March 1971. The first elections under the new constitution are held in North Yemen.
- December 1970. The first permanent constitution for North Yemen (the Yemen Arab Republic) is announced.
- July 1970. Saudi Arabia formally recognises North Yemen.
- May 1970. The republicans and royalists in North Yemen reach a peace agreement and some 30 leading royalists return from exile in Saudi Arabia.
- November 1969. Fighting between the republicans and royalists in North Yemen resumes.
- June 1969. President Qahtan as-Shaabi of South Yemen is overthrown in a bloodless coup, his functions being collectively assumed by a five-man Presidential Council.
- December 1967. The Republic of South Yemen is admitted to the UN as its 123rd member.
- November 1967. President Abdullah Sallal of North Yemen is overthrown by a military coup; a Presidential Council headed by Abdul Rahman al Iriani is established.
- November 1967. British forces withdraw from Aden and South Yemen (the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, PDRY) is formed, comprising Aden and the former Protectorate of South Arabia.
- August 1967. President Nasser of Egypt and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia sign an agreement in Khartoum (the capital of Sudan) providing for the withdrawal of all Egyptian forces from Yemen within four months.
- June 1967. A large section of the Egyptian forces are withdrawn from Yemen because of the Six-Day War with Israel, and the royalists take the opportunity to occupy a number of towns which had been evacuated by their garrisons.
- August 1965. President Nasser of Egypt and King Faisal of Saudi Arabia sign a ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the civil war in Yemen, but fighting resumes.
- December 1963. The Aden Emergency begins, eventually resulting in the deaths of 129 British soldiers in Aden and elsewhere in South Arabia, mainly in the Radfan mountains.
- October 1962. Civil war breaks out between royalists supported by Saudi Arabia and republicans backed by Egypt.
- September 1962. Imam Ahmad dies and is succeeded by his eldest son, Mohammed el Badr, but after a week he is overthrown by a group of army officers led by Col Sallal who proclaim the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR).
- April 1955. An unsuccessful attempt is made to depose Imam Ahmad by a section of the army, led by his younger brother and foreign minister, Seif el Islam Abdullah.
- March 1951. Diplomatic relations are established with the UK and a joint British-Yemeni commission is formed to demarcate the frontiers between Yemen and the Aden Protectorate.
- March 1948. Prince Seif Ahmed, the eldest son of the assassinated Imam Yahya, takes control of Yemen - formal recognition of the new Imam is announced by the Arab League.
- February 1948. The 80 year old Imam Yahya, three of his sons, and his chief adviser are assassinated.
