Key dates in the war,
▶ 1978 Ali Abdullah Saleh elected president of North Yemen, after the assassination of president Ahmad Al Ghashmi
▶ 1990 Saleh successfully reunifies North Yemen with the communist south. Becomes president of Yemen
▶ 2004-2010: Saleh fights Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who, like him, belonged to the Zaidi Shiite minority. Kills brother of Abdul Malik Al Houthi, current leader of the rebels
▶ 2012 Ali Abdullah Saleh, who steps down after 33 years as Yemen’s president, plans to leave in a few days. Hands power to Abdrabu Mansur Hadi
▶ 2014 Houthis seize control of the capital, Sanaa
2015
▶ February 21 Houthis appoint presidential council and replace President Hadi who flees Sanaa to Aden, the interim capital
▶ March 26 Operation Decisive Storm, launched by Saudi Arabia with nine Mena nations and supported by the US, the UK and Australia, among others
▶ May 15 A Saudi-proposed five-day truce to allow humanitarian aid into the country is disrupted by Houthis
▶ June 1 A UN-chartered ship carrying food supplies was forced to turn back from Aden after shelling by Houthi rebels
▶ August 5 UAE aid chiefs in Yemen move their operations centre from the capital, Sanaa, to Aden
▶ September 20 UAE pays Yemeni government salaries in Aden
▶ September 22 President Hadi returns to Aden backed by Saudi government
2016
▶ April 24: UAE soldiers launch ground offensive and recapture Mukalla from Aqap
▶ August 9 Three months of UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait end in stalemate, and coalition aircraft resume strikes on Sanaa
▶ October 6 First case of cholera ▶ October 19: UN envoy urges 72hour ceasefire ▶ November 7 ERC launches cholera programme to address the problem
2017
▶ March 15 UN says an estimated 17 million Yemenis risk death from starvation ▶ August 24 Saleh organises a demonstration in Sanaa attended by millions of loyalists. Begins to break off from Houthi alliance
▶ November 2 Medical agencies claim cholera outbreak has killed 2,100. Cases rise to 900,000 ▶ November 27 Diphtheria outbreak in the country kills 28
▶ December 4 The alliance between Saleh and the Houthis falls apart. The rebels murder former president Saleh ▶ December 19 Saudi Arabia shoots down Houthi missile aimed at Riyadh ▶ December 21 Cholera cases hit record 1 million mark
▶ January 1 UAE aid to Yemen between April 2015 and November 2017 reached Dh9.4 billion
▶ January 28 Fighting between Yemeni government and southern separatists kills 12 in Aden before both sides respond to ceasefire by the Saudi-led coalition
▶ February 17 The Arab coalition launch an operation to drive out Al Qaeda from Hadramawt
▶ March 24 The UN’s new envoy for Yemen holds talks with Houthi rebel leaders in Sanaa to end a bitter war that is entering its fourth year