View source for Battle of Sanaa (2017)

{{Short description|Battle fought in 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Other uses|Battle of Sanaa (disambiguation){{!}}Battle of Sanaa}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Sanaa (2017)
| partof = the [[Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)|Yemeni Crisis]] and the [[Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)]]
| image = File:Sanaa (December 2 2017).svg
| image_size = 275px
| caption = Situation in Sana'a, early December 2017{{leftlegend|#CDEBC9|Houthi control}}{{leftlegend|#EDC4BE|Saleh control (Before being expelled)}}
| date = 28 November 2017 – 4 December 2017<br />({{Age in months, weeks and days|year1=2017|month1=11|day1=28|year2=2017|month2=12|day2=4}})<ref name="reuters.com1">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-un/un-says-fighting-stops-in-sanaa-saleh-funeral-expected-idUSKBN1DZ18L|title=U.N. says fighting stops in Sanaa, Saleh funeral expected|date=5 December 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=6 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="egypttoday.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/35710/Houthis-detain-700-officers-of-republican-guard-in-Sanaa-s|title=Houthis detain 700 officers of republican guard in Sanaa's Central Prison |work=Egypt Today|date=6 December 2017 |access-date=6 December 2017}}</ref>
| place = [[Sana'a]], [[Yemen]]
| coordinates = 
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| longitude = 
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| territory = 
| result = Houthi victory<ref name="egypttoday.com"/> 
* [[Ali Abdullah Saleh]] killed by Houthi forces<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/violence-escalates-sanaa-saleh-loyalists-battle-houthis/|title=Violence escalates in Sanaa as Saleh loyalists battle Houthis|date=2 December 2017|access-date=2 December 2017|author=Leith Fadel|publisher=[[Al Masdar News]]|archive-date=16 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616131503/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/violence-escalates-sanaa-saleh-loyalists-battle-houthis/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 
* [[Houthis]] gain full control of [[Sana'a]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/saleh-fate-unknown-house-bombed-houthis-171204095843076.html|title=Houthis reportedly gain control of most of Sanaa|date=4 December 2017|access-date=4 December 2017|publisher=Al-Jazeera}}</ref>
| combatant1 = {{flagicon|Yemen}} [[Supreme Political Council]]
* {{flagicon image|Houthis Logo.png}} [[Houthis]]
* {{flagicon image|General People's Congress flag.svg}} [[General People's Congress (Yemen)|General People's Congress]] (pro-Houthi wing)<ref name="leader dies">{{cite news|url=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/when-leader-dies-how-yemen-gpc-fell-apart-after-murder-saleh-tareq-saudi-uae-aden-sanaa-1966816018 |title=Death of a leader: Where next for Yemen's GPC after murder of Saleh? |work=[[Middle East Eye]] |date=23 January 2018 |access-date=31 May 2018}}</ref><ref name="almasirah"/>
| combatant2 = {{flagicon|Yemen}} Saleh loyalists
* {{flagicon image|General People's Congress flag.svg}} General People's Congress (pro-Saleh wing)
* {{flagicon image|Yemeni Republican Guard Flag.svg}} [[Republican Guard (Yemen)|Republican Guard]]
'''Supported by:'''<br />'''[[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen|Saudi-led coalition]]:'''<ref name="ReutersShift">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/saudi-led-air-strikes-support-yemens-saleh-as-he-shifts-against-houthis-idUSKBN1DX07O|title=Saudi-led air strikes support Yemen's Saleh as he shifts against Houthis|work=Reuters|date=3 December 2017|access-date=3 December 2017}}</ref><br />{{flag|Saudi Arabia}}<br />{{flag|United Arab Emirates}}
| commander1 = {{flagicon image|Houthis Logo.png}} [[Abdul-Malik al-Houthi]]<br />{{flagicon image|Houthis Logo.png}} [[Mohammed Ali al-Houthi]]<br />{{flagicon image|Houthis Logo.png}} [[Saleh Ali al-Sammad]]
| commander2 = {{flagicon|Yemen}} [[Ali Abdullah Saleh]]{{KIA}}<br />{{flagicon|Yemen}} [[Tareq Saleh]]{{WIA}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/yemeni-sources-nephew-slain-president-alive-180103192914287.html|title=Yemeni sources: Nephew of slain former president alive}}</ref><br />{{flagicon|Yemen}} [[Khaled Ali Saleh]]{{POW}}<br />{{flagicon|Saudi Arabia}} [[Aref al-Zouka]]{{KIA}}<ref name="leader dies"/>
| units1 = 
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| strength1 = 
| strength2 = 
| casualties1 = Unknown
| casualties2 = Unknown number of killed, 600 soldiers captured and later released<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/yemen-houthis-release-600-ex-president-saleh-supporters/1044548|title=Yemen: Houthis release 600 ex-President Saleh supporters|website=www.aa.com.tr|access-date=2019-06-30}}</ref>
| casualties3 = 234 killed, 400 wounded overall<br /><small>(per the [[International Committee of the Red Cross|ICRC]] and the [[United Nations|UN]])</small><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-icrc-234-killed-clashes-yemens-sanaa-51583542|title=The Latest: ICRC says 234 killed in clashes in Yemen's Sanaa|work=ABC News|date=5 December 2017|access-date=5 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205161314/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/latest-icrc-234-killed-clashes-yemens-sanaa-51583542|archive-date=5 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.cp24.com/world/fighting-in-yemeni-capital-over-last-six-days-leaves-230-dead-un-1.3712486 Fighting in Yemeni capital over last six days leaves 230 dead: UN]</ref>
| notes = 
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Yemeni Crisis}}
}}
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 [[Houthi takeover in Yemen|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 [[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen|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.

== Background ==
{{See also|Houthi takeover in Yemen|Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen}}
The Houthis had formed a tactical alliance with [[Ali Abdullah Saleh]], Yemeni President in 1990–2012, after he was deposed in the [[2011 Yemeni revolution]] to which Houthis themselves had contributed. Houthis were also dissatisfied with the new Yemeni president [[Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi]],a former military officer who had been appointed by the [[Gulf Cooperation Council]], for various reasons. In particular, Hadi had refused to hand them a share in the new government. 

The dissatisfaction turned into widespread protests when the Hadi government ordered the removal of fuel subsidies. Houthis organized mass protests and advanced into the capital, Sanaa, [[Houthi takeover in Yemen|taking over government buildings]] but Hadi and his cabinet suddenly resigned, leaving the office in the hands of the Houthis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2015/01/yemen-president-resigns-amid-political-crisis-2015122135030512445.html|title=Yemen president quits amid worsening crisis|website=www.aljazeera.com|access-date=2018-09-17}}</ref> Soon afterwards, the [[Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen|Saudis led a military intervention in Yemen]] to combat the Houthis and fulfil Hadi's  wishes to return to power. 

From the takeover onwards, the Houthis and Saleh loyalist forces shared administration of Sanaa and the country. Pro-Saleh forces controlled southern Sanaa while the Houthis were in control of the northern part of the capital.<ref>{{cite news|title=Yemen's Saleh says ready for 'new page' with Saudi-led coalition|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/yemens-saleh-ready-for-new-page-with-saudi-led-coalition-as-clashes-rage-idUSKBN1DW08P|access-date=5 December 2017|work=Reuters|year=2017}}</ref> The tactical alliance between Saleh, who was deposed in 2012, and the Houthis often appeared fragile, with both groups reserving suspicions as to each other's ultimate motives and sharing little ideological ground.<ref>{{cite news|title=Yemen's Houthis: Saleh's overture to Saudi 'a coup'|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/yemen-houthis-saleh-overture-saudi-coup-171202120859264.html|access-date=5 December 2017|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=2 December 2017}}</ref>

== Battle ==
[[File:Anti-Houthi protests in Sana'a (2 December 2017).png|thumb|left|Anti-[[Houthi]] protests in Sana'a. (2 December 2017)]]
On 2 December 2017, four days after the eruption of armed conflict between the Houthis and forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, he announced his readiness to start a "new page" with Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/yemen-allies-fight-on-in-sanaa-as-mediation-efforts-collapse-idUSKBN1DW08P|title=Yemen's Saleh says ready for 'new page' with Saudi-led coalition|date=2 December 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=4 December 2017}}</ref> a move which was welcome by the two governments.<ref name="ReutersShift" /> On 4 December 2017, Saleh officially announced the end of his partnership with the Houthis while Saudi Arabia warplanes were bombing Houthi positions in Sana'a in support of Saleh. The conflict took at least 125 lives and injured 238.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security-redcross/fiercest-clashes-yet-in-sanaa-yemen-casualties-growing-icrc-idUSKBN1DY17U|title=Fiercest clashes yet in Sanaa, Yemen casualties growing: ICRC|date=4 December 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=4 December 2017}}</ref> According to Ra'iy al-Youm, Saleh's split was an outcome of long-term efforts by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to unravel the Houthi-Saleh alliance after their failure to defeat the Houthis militarily.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.raialyoum.com/?p=789513|title=Sowing Strife in Yemen|date=4 December 2017}}</ref>

It was reported on 4 December that the Bani Bahloul tribe gained control of posts of Houthi militias in southern Sanaa. The tribes of al Hima and Hamadan reportedly controlled other Houthi posts and arrested dozens of Houthi militants, according to [[Sky News]]. Also, supervisor of the Houthi militias Abu Mohsen al Qahoum was killed in clashes with [[General People's Congress (Yemen)|General People's Congress]] (GPC) forces in Sha'oub district of Sanaa.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/35331/Yemeni-tribes-gain-control-of-Houthi-posts-in-southern-Sanaa|title=Yemeni tribes gain control of Houthi posts in southern Sanaa - Egypt Today|website=www.egypttoday.com|date=4 December 2017|access-date=6 December 2017}}</ref> Despite this, the battle turned increasingly against the Saleh loyalists, with GPC secretary general Aref al-Zouka being killed in combat. Many GPC members and Saleh fighters also defected to the Houthis.<ref name="leader dies"/>

=== Death of Saleh ===
On 4 December 2017, having declared Saleh and his militias "treasonous", Houthis disabled his vehicle with a rocket-propelled grenade in an [[ambush]] when he was on his way to [[Ma'rib]] while trying to flee into Saudi-controlled territories and he was subsequently shot in the head by a Houthi sniper.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/saudi-warplanes-strike-houthis-as-alliances-shift-in-yemen-war-idUSKBN1DY12V|title=Saleh party sources say Yemeni ex-president killed in Sanaa fighting: al-Arabiya TV|date=4 December 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=4 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.raialyoum.com/?p=789725|title=الحوثيون يعلنون مقتل الرئيس اليمني السابق علي عبدالله صالح|website=Rai al-Youm|date=4 December 2017 }}</ref> In response, his son [[Ahmed Saleh|Ahmed]], former commander of the [[Republican Guard (Yemen)|Republican Guard]], pledged vengeance against Houthis.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/for-saudis-a-new-opportunity-in-yemen-war-1512556200?mod=fox_australian|title=For Saudis, a New Opportunity in Yemen War|website=www.wsj.com|access-date=6 December 2017}}</ref> After Saleh's death the forces aligned with him were routed and their commanders fled the city and fighting in the city subsequently ceased but Saudi-led coalition started pounding areas in the city.<ref name="reuters.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/saudi-warplanes-strike-houthis-as-alliances-shift-in-yemen-war-idUSKBN1DY12V|title=Exiled son of Yemen's Saleh takes up anti-Houthi cause|date=5 December 2017|work=Reuters}}</ref> Saleh's death is described as an embarrassment in a long list of Saudi foreign policy failures under [[Mohammad bin Salman]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21731968-former-dictator-once-fought-houthis-and-later-allied-them-his-decision|title=Ali Abdullah Saleh's death will shake up the war in Yemen|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=5 December 2017}}</ref> The death toll from clashes between GPC forces and Houthi militias in Sanaa has exceeded 200.

On 4 December, The Houthi leader, [[Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi|Abdul-Malik al-Houthi]], congratulated the people for "the fall of the conspiracy" that he alleged was instigated by Saudi Arabia and UAE.{{cn|date=November 2023}} Abdul-Malik also noted that it was a certain number of militias and the top leader (Saleh) of the GPC that participated in the sedition while praising "many honorable members of the Congress" who helped Houthis to settle things down.<ref name="almasirah">{{Cite web|url=https://www.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=16453&cat_id=3|title=أشاد بالموقف المسؤول لقيادات وجمهور حزب المؤتمر.. قائد الثورة لقوى العدوان: عدوانكم فاشل ولن تصلوا إلى نتيجة|website=almasirah.net|language=ar|access-date=5 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206005956/https://www.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=16453&cat_id=3|archive-date=6 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
[[File:Situation in Sanaa.svg|thumb|Situation in Sana'a after expulsion of pro-Saleh forces|alt=]]
On 5 December, tens of thousands of pro-Houthi demonstrators took to the streets in Sanaa. [[Almasirah]], the official Ansar Allah website, reported that the rally was held to "thank God" for the failure of the revolt. The crowd, waving Yemen's national flag, chanted slogans such as "ours is a free revolution, we reject colonization.. through unity and resilience, we defeated the Jewish alliance", according to the website. The rally was reported to have been attended by a large number of women as well as members of GPC who stated that the plot was aimed at the entire people of Yemen without exception.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://in.reuters.com/article/yemen-security/saudi-led-coalition-intensifies-yemen-air-strikes-after-salehs-death-idINKBN1E00K1 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206070242/https://in.reuters.com/article/yemen-security/saudi-led-coalition-intensifies-yemen-air-strikes-after-salehs-death-idINKBN1E00K1 | url-status=dead | archive-date=6 December 2017 | title=Saudi air strikes on Yemen intensify, residents in capital stay indoors | work=Reuters | date=6 December 2017 | access-date=20 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=16489&cat_id=3|title=مسيرة جماهيرية كبرى في صنعاء "حمدا لله على تجاوز المحنة ودعما للدولة"|website=almasirah.net|language=ar|access-date=5 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180912021928/https://www.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=16489&cat_id=3|archive-date=12 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The celebration has been broadly confirmed by other sources.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/04/568283444/yemeni-ex-president-ali-abdullah-saleh-apparently-killed-in-houthi-attack|title=Yemeni Ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh Killed In Houthi Attack|work=NPR.org|access-date=2017-12-06|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-yemen-security/saudi-warplanes-strike-houthis-as-alliances-shift-in-yemen-war-idUSKBN1DY12V|title=Exiled son of Yemen's Saleh takes up anti-Houthi cause|date=2017-12-05|work=Reuters|access-date=2017-12-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Al-Sakkaf |first1=Nasser |date=5 December 2017 |title=Fragile lull falls on Sana'a after death of Saleh |website=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3042c7b4-d9cb-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b482 |access-date=2017-12-06}}</ref>

A large part of the GPC consequently pledged allegiance to the Houthis, and elected [[Sadeq Ameen Abu Rass]] as new chairman. Those GPC elements which stayed loyal to the Saleh family retreated into Hadi-controlled areas and began to rebuild their military strength to fight the Houthis.<ref name="leader dies"/>

== See also ==
* [[Battle of Sana'a (2011)]]
* [[Battle of Sana'a (2014)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)}}

{{coord missing|Yemen}}

[[Category:2017 in Yemen]]
[[Category:Sanaa in the Yemeni civil war (2014–present)]]
[[Category:Battles involving Yemen|Sanaa (2017)]]
[[Category:Battles of the Yemeni civil war (2014–present)]]
[[Category:Battles in 2017|Sanaa]]
[[Category:November 2017 events in Yemen]]
[[Category:December 2017 events in Yemen]]