Yemen unrest

Violence in Yemen has repeatedly erupted between government and opposition forces, as well as between the government and al-Qaeda.

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May 28, 2012

A tribal militant loyal to the powerful al-Ahmar family points his rifle as he poses for a photo while barricades erected during last year's fighting with security forces are being removed in Sanaa, Yemen. A military committee, set up under a Gulf Cooperation Council peace deal signed in Saudi Arabia in November, continued the breaking down of militant fortifications that have been set up in the Yemeni capital during protests against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

May 28, 2012

Residents remove sand bags from a bus used as a barricade by tribal militants loyal to the powerful al-Ahmar family during last year's fighting with security forces in Sanaa, Yemen.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

May 28, 2012

Yemenis hold candles during a rally to commemorate soldiers who were killed in a suicide bomb attack last week in Sanaa, Yemen. A soldier who detonated a bomb hidden in his uniform during a rehearsal for a military parade has killed nearly 100 fellow soldiers and wounded more than 200 on May 21, 2012.

Hani Mohammed / AP

May 21, 2012

Yemeni military police collect evidence at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Sanaa.

Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images

May 21, 2012

A Yemeni military policeman shows his bloodied gloves as he and colleagues collect evidence at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Sanaa.

Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images

April 17, 2012

Members of the Republican Guards force stand as protesters gather outside the Cabinet headquarters for various demands in Sanaa.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

April 17, 2012

Police officers shout slogans during a protest to demand promotions outside the Cabinet headquarters in Sanaa.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

April 15, 2012

Anti-government protesters pray during at the Taghyeer (Change) Square, where the protesters have been camping for more than a year to demand regime change, in Sanaa.

Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

April 10, 2012

Tribal fighters loyal to Sadiq al-Ahmar, the leader of the Hashed tribe, walk in front of a bullet-riddled building in Sanaa, Yemen.

Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

April 10, 2012

A tribal fighter loyal to Sadiq al-Ahmar, the leader of the Hashed tribe, walks in front of a bullet-riddled building in Sanaa.

Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

April 10, 2012

A tribal fighter loyal to Sadiq al-Ahmar, the leader of the Hashed tribe, emerges from a bullet-riddled building in Sanaa.

Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

April 9, 2012

A canal is seen flooded in the old city of Sanaa.

Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

April 9, 2012

A child looks out of a car standing in a flood water from heavy rain in Sanaa, Yemen. Arabic writing on the rear of the car reads, "God bless, God be willing."

Hani Mohammed / AP

April 9, 2012

A girl and her brother try to walk on a flooded street following heavy rains in Sanaa.

Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

April 8, 2012

Policemen sit in a pickup truck in front of Sanaa's International airport in Yemen. Yemen's main airport reopened on Sunday, a day after gunmen loyal to the nation's former president seized the facility in the capital Sanaa, officials said. Saturday's assault on the airport involved armed tribesmen along with troops in uniform. Driving pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns, they blasted buildings of Yemen's main airport and opened fire on one of the airport surveillance towers before surrounding the entire complex, blocking roads and turning away passenger vehicles.

Hani Mohammed / AP

April 8, 2012

Gunmen oversee the dismantling of barricades erected during recent tribal clashes in Sanaa as the airport in Yemen's capital reopened after a one-day shutdown over threats from loyalists of a sacked general close to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images

April 8, 2012

Policemen sit in the back of a police pickup outside Sanaa International Airport, after the airport was reopened.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

March 18, 2012

A protester holds up a picture of her son, killed in last year's clashes with police, during a demonstration to demand that Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh be deprived of immunity from prosecution in Sanaa, Yemen. The Arabic writing on the placard at left reads,"martyr Salah Abdullah, died 3/18/2011 in Sanaa," and the poster at right reads,"the blood of my husband will not go in vain."

Hani Mohammed / AP

March 18, 2012

Anti-government protesters carry pictures of victims during a rally to commemorate the first anniversary of an attack on protesters rallying against the rule of Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh that left scores dead, in Sanaa.

Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

March 18, 2012

A Yemeni soldier passes posters of anti-government protesters who were allegedly killed by security forces during a rally against President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa a day before the one-year anniversary of their death.

Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images

March 18, 2012

Girls show their palms painted in the colors of their national flag with the slogans, reading in Arabic, "Freedom" and "God is great" during a rally to commemorate the first anniversary of an attack on protesters rallying against the rule of Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh that left scores dead, in Sanaa.

Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images

March 18, 2012

Students march during a rally to commemorate the first anniversary of an attack on protesters rallying against the rule of Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh that left scores dead, in Sanaa.

Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

March 16, 2012

An Ethiopian migrant looks through a fence as he waits to be repatriated at a transit center in the western Yemeni town of Haradh, on the border with Saudi Arabia. Some 12,000 migrants, mostly from the Horn of Africa, are stranded in Haradh, which they use as a stepping stone to reach Saudi Arabia, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Last week, local media reported atrocities committed against migrants by trafficking gangs which kidnap migrants for ransom from their families in the Gulf Arab states.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

March 16, 2012

An Ethiopian migrant shows torture wounds he received from traffickers as he waits to be repatriated at a transit center in the western Yemeni town of Haradh, on the border with Saudi Arabia.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

March 16, 2012

An Ethiopian migrant bathes outside a transit center in the western Yemeni town of Haradh.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

March 8, 2012

An anti-government protester shouts slogans during a protest to demand that relatives of Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh be dismissed from senior posts in the army and police in Sanaa.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

March 8, 2012

Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a march to demand that relatives of Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh be dismissed from senior posts in the army and police, in Sanaa.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

March 8, 2012

Members of Yemen's Air Forces march during a protest calling for the resignation of their commander General Mohammad Saleh al-Ahmar in Sanaa.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

March 8, 2012

A protester looks from a window of his makeshift hut at Taghyeer (Change) Square, where protesters have been camping for more than a year to demand a regime change, in Sanaa.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

March 6, 2012

Protesters gather as they chew khat, a mild stimulant, in their tent at Taghyeer (Change) Square in Sanaa, Yemen, where demonstrators have been camping for about one year to demand the resignation and trial of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh. At top are posters of protesters who were killed during clashes.

Hani Mohammed / AP

March 6, 2012

Protesters pray at Taghyeer Square in Sanaa, Yemen.

Hani Mohammed / AP

March 6, 2012

An anti-government demonstrator jumps to entertain fellow protesters at Taghyeer Square in Sanaa, Yemen.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

March 1, 2012

Soldiers form a line to block marching anti-government protesters during a demonstration in Sanaa, Yemen.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

March 2, 2012

Anti-government protesters demand the release of jailed fellow protesters during a rally in Sanaa.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Feb. 27, 2012

Yemeni protesters hold a poster of Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to celebrate his election as the country's new president in Sanaa. Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down after 33 years at the helm, making him the fourth veteran Arab leader to fall in a year of mass pro-democracy demonstrations that have rocked the region.

Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images

Feb. 24, 2012

Anti-government protesters shout slogans at Taghyeer (Change) Square as the results of the presidential elections are announced in Sanaa.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Feb. 20, 2012

Boys pause for a photo as they play next to a flag of former South Yemen painted on a wall and a slogan calling for the boycott of the presidential elections in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Feb. 20, 2012

Yemeni women hold portraits of the sole presidential candidate Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi during an election rally in Sanaa on the eve of the uncontested presidential election.

Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images

Feb. 19, 2012

Security and army forces are on alert in Aden to secure election centers as the country gears up for the presidential elections.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Feb. 17, 2012

Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a rally to show support for the upcoming presidential elections in the central Yemeni city of Ibb.

/ Reuters

Feb. 12, 2012

An anti-government protester paints the colors of the national flags of Yemen and Syria around his eyes during a march in solidarity with the people of Syria in Sanaa.

Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

Feb. 12, 2012

Yemeni military chiefs responsible for security during the upcoming presidential election hold a meeting in Sanaa. Yemen will hold a snap presidential election on Feb. 21 in line with an accord which led to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's resignation after three decades in power, with Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi as the sole candidate.

Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images

Feb. 12, 2012

Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a march in solidarity with the people of Syria in Sanaa.

Mohamed al-Sayaghi / Reuters

Feb. 10, 2012

An anti-government protester shouts slogans during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen. Weakened by months of protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule, the Yemeni government has lost control of whole chunks of the country, giving southern separatists, northern Shiite rebels and Islamist militants a window to further their goals.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Feb. 11, 2012

A journalist is silhouetted in a banner he is carrying during a protest outside the U.S. embassy to demand the release of journalist Abdul-Elah Haidar Shaya in Sanaa, Yemen. A Yemeni state security court sentenced Shaya to five years in prison in January 2011, after it convicted him of supporting al-Qaeda.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Jan. 31, 2012

Female students from Sanaa University shout slogans during a protest outside the government's headquarters in Sanaa, Yemen. Dozens of students gathered at the headquarters to demand the dismissal of Dean Ghamdan al-Harazi, who they accuse of corruption.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Jan. 28, 2012

Hundreds of Yemeni air force officers and soldiers chant slogans during a protest in Sanaa, Yemen, demanding the ousting of their top bosses over accusations of corruption.

Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images

Jan. 22, 2012

Yemeni protesters march during a demonstration denouncing the immunity law passed for Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa, Yemen.

Hani Mohammed / AP

Jan. 25, 2012

A boy holds a rifle as he rides a motorbike in Radda town, about 100 miles southeast of the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Militants are leaving Radda, which they seized last week, in exchange for the formation of a council to govern it and the release of several jailed comrades, a tribesman involved in the negotiations said.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Jan. 23, 2012

A view of the Old Sanaa city.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Jan. 22, 2012

Protesters react after receiving the news of the departure of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh from Sanaa to Oman in Sanaa, Yemen. A spokesman for the president said Ali Abdullah Saleh left the country for the Persian Gulf country of Oman.

Hani Mohammed / AP

Dec. 28, 2011

A Yemeni military position in Zinjibar, Yemen on the main highway between the city and Aden. In May, hardline Islamists overran large swaths of Abyan province, including its regional capital. U.S. officials have long viewed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its aspirations to stage an attack on U.S. soil, but those concerns have grown after Osama bin Laden’s death.

Sudarsan Raghavan / The Washington Post

Dec. 28, 2011

In this remote, sun-blasted corner of southern Yemen, there’s a battle raging that is as important to the United States as it is to this nation’s beleaguered government.

Sudarsan Raghavan / The Washington Post

Dec. 28, 2011

The battle is but one in a broader struggle that has upended Yemen over the past year and left the country badly fragmented. With pro-democracy demonstrators now in the 11th month of a populist uprising that has forced President Ali Abdullah Saleh to agree to step down, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and its sympathizers have taken full advantage of the turbulence.

Sudarsan Raghavan / The Washington Post

Nov. 24, 2011

Anti-government demonstrators in Sanaa stand on an armored personnel vehicle belonging to army members who defected and were backing the protesters.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Nov. 24, 2011

A man carries a wounded protester during clashes with security forces in Sanaa, Yemen's capital. A medic at a field hospital in Sanaa said several people were killed by security forces and regime supporters who fired upon crowds demanding that President Ali Abdullah Saleh be put on trial.

Hani Mohammed / AP

Nov. 24, 2011

Medics carry an anti-government demonstrator injured during a protest in Sanaa demanding the trial of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Plainclothes gunmen opened fire on Yemeni protesters in the center of the capital Thursday, witnesses said, a day after Saleh signed a deal to hand over power.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Nov. 23, 2011

Demonstrators in Yemen celebrate after President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to step down.

Hani Mohammed / AP

Nov. 23, 2011

Saudi King Abdullah, right, applauds Saleh's departure.

Saudi Press Agency / AP

Nov. 23, 2011

A demonstrator in Sanaa reacts to the news that Saleh agreed to step down.

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Nov. 23, 2011

Jubilant demonstrators pack the streets after the deal was announced.

Hani Mohammed / AP

Nov. 23, 2011

Yemeni anti-government protesters simulate an execution in response to the news about Saleh.

Mohammed Huwais / AFP/Getty Images

Nov. 23, 2011

Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against proposed immunity for Saleh. The placard reads: "No immunity for a killer, no guarantee for a betrayer."

Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

Nov. 23, 2011

Protesters in Yemen hold up a sign that reads "Gulf Cooperation Council hanging, revolution" during a demonstration against proposed immunity for Saleh.

Hani Mohammed / AP

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