History

Separatists and government sign power-sharing agreement to end conflict in southern Yemen.

Southern Yemeni separatists - backed by the United Arab Emirates - seize control of Aden, the main city in the south.

Leader of al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, Nasser al-Wuhayshi, is killed in a US drone strike in Yemen.

Islamic State carries out its first major attacks in Yemen - two suicide bombings targeting Shia mosques in Sanaa, in which 137 people are killed.

Civil war breaks out in earnest as Saudi-led coalition of mainly Gulf Arab states launches air strikes against Houthi targets and imposes naval blockade, in order to halt their advance on Aden.

Houthis appoint presidential council to replace President Hadi, who flees to his southern stronghold of Aden.

Presidential panel approves draft federal constitution to accommodate Houthi and southern grievances, but Houthis seize control of most of Sanaa in August and reject the deal.

Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi inaugurated as president after uncontested elections, but is unable to counter al-Qaeda attacks in the capital as the year goes on.

President Saleh agrees to hand over power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, after months of protests. A unity government including prime minister from opposition formed.

US-born al-Qaeda leader in Yemen, Anwar al-Awlaki, is killed by US forces.

Thousands flee government offensive against separatists in southern Shabwa province.

The Yemeni army launches a fresh offensive against Houthi rebels in the northern Saada province. Tens of thousands of people are displaced by the fighting.

Police fire warning shots at opposition rally in Sanaa. Demonstrators demand electoral reform and fresh polls.

Al-Qaeda attack on US embassy in Sanaa kills 12 people.

Scores are killed or wounded in clashes between security forces and al-Houthi rebels in the north. Rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi accepts a ceasefire in the summer.

More than 200 people are killed in a resurgence of fighting between government forces and supporters of the slain rebel cleric Hussein al-Houthi.

Hundreds die as troops battle Shia insurgency led by Hussein al-Houthi in the north.

Al-Qaeda attacks and badly damages oil supertanker MV Limburg in Gulf of Aden, killing one and injuring 12 crew members, and costing Yemen dear in lost port revenues.

Yemen expels more than 100 foreign Islamic clerics in crackdown on al-Qaeda.

Violence in run-up to disputed municipal polls and referendum, which backs extension to presidential term and powers.

US naval vessel USS Cole damaged in al-Qaeda suicide attack in Aden. Seventeen US personnel killed.

Yemen and Eritrea clash over the disputed Hanish Islands in the Red Sea. International arbitration awarded the bulk of the archipelago to Yemen in 1998.

President Saleh declares a state of emergency and dismisses Vice-President Ali Salem al-Beid and other southern officials, who declare the secession of the south before being defeated by the national army.

The two Yemens unite as the Republic of Yemen with Ali Abdallah Saleh as president, as the Soviet bloc implodes. Tension between former states endures.

Thousands die in power struggle in south, which effectively drives the first generation of leaders from office.

Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas takes over, and begins to work towards unification of the two states.

Fresh fighting between the two Yemens.

Ali Abdallah Saleh becomes president of North Yemen.

Border clashes between two Yemens; ceasefire brokered by Arab League.

Republican forces triumph in the North Yemen civil war.

A communist coup renames the south the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen and reorients it towards the Soviet bloc.

Britain withdraws from the south after years of a pro-independence insurgency, and its former territories unite as the People's Republic of Yemen.

Imam Ahmad dies and is succeeded by his son, but army officers seize power and set up the Yemen Arab Republic, sparking civil war between royalists supported by Saudi Arabia and republicans backed by Egypt.

Yahya assassinated, but his son Ahmad fights off opponents of feudal rule and succeeds his father.

Ottoman Empire dissolves, North Yemen gains independence and is ruled by Imam Yahya.

Ottomans return to north.

the suez connal opened to serves as a major refuelling port, when Aden went under the British rule, and when the Suez Canal opened in 1869, the Mediterranean Sea becomes warmer, leading to an ongoing biological invasion with over 400 aquatic species, including crabs, mollusks, and fish, immigrating from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean, displacing local fauna and disrupting the natural ecosystem.

Ottomans absorb part of Yemen into their empire, but are expelled in the 1600s.