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The departure of US ambassador to Yemen Gerald Feierstein is a great blow to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Feierstein was sworn in on 17 September 2010, and has been one of Hadi’s primary international supports during the transition period. The end of his term of office comes just a few months after that of the deputy head of mission, Elizabeth Richard (GSN 953/1), and at a time of diplomatic rotations in several of Sanaa’s embassies.

As the National Dialogue Conference nears its conclusion, the deepening rift between Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the rest of the General People’s Congress (GPC) has left Hadi looking increasingly politically isolated. Hadi has been accused by former president – and GPC leader – Ali Abdullah Saleh and his allies of betraying the GPC by making too many concessions in backroom negotiations with the Sunni Islamist party Al-Islah; the GPC mainstream is opposing the extension of Hadi’s presidency, and wants him removed as secretary-general of the party.

On 2 August, the United States issued a global security alert, warning of “the continued potential for terrorist attacks, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, and possibly occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula”. A string of embassy closures by the US and other governments followed two days later; some remained closed for a week. In Yemen, which seemed to be the epicentre of concerns, the embassy in Sanaa remained closed for routine consular services to the time of writing. US officials said the alarm was raised following intelligence that senior members of Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had been discussing a major attack. Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi expanded on that on 23 August in an address to police cadets which was broadcast on state television.

When President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi visited the White House at the beginning of August, he was congratulated by President Barack Obama for his leadership of a national dialogue that was “historic”, “inclusive” and “should lead to elections next year” – praise in keeping with the public tone of US diplomacy towards Sanaa. “I very much want to congratulate him [Hadi] on the strong start that he’s made on the national dialogue,” Obama said in a statement on 1 August. “I think it can produce the kinds of opportunities for growth and prosperity… that I know President Hadi cares so deeply about.”

President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is in Washington to discuss the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention centre. He met US secretary of state John Kerry on 29 July, and will be hosted by President Barack Obama at the White House on 1 August. Kerry said they would discuss the national dialogue, security and humanitarian co-operation, as well as Guantánamo.

Yemen’s main oil export pipeline was blown up again on 13 June. Local officials told news agencies that the flow of crude had to be stopped after tribesmen attacked a section of the line in pipeline. The pipeline, which goes to the Red Sea, had just been repaired following a similar attack on 24 May.

On 8 June,Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference moved into its second round, in which delegates will discuss recommendations drawn up by nine working groups. “We are holding our second open session amid changes, developments and positive achievements,” Hadi told the assembly at the presidential palace in Sanaa, which included UN envoy Jamal Benomar and Gulf Co-operation Council chief Abdul-Latif Al-Zayani. He said the talks were moving towards “a new Yemen where justice, equality and freedom prevail”.

Austrian press reports suggest that Oman paid $50m to secure the release of three European hostages held in Yemen. The three – a Finnish couple, Leila and Atte Kaleva, and Austrian language student Dominik Neubauer, were kidnapped in Sanaa in December 2012.

President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi surprised many on 10 April when he announced his most dramatic restructuring of Yemen’s military yet, and removed Ali Abdullah Saleh’s son Brigadier General Ahmed Ali Saleh from the military altogether by naming him ambassador to the UAE. In eight decrees announced by state news agency Saba, Hadi also made General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar a presidential adviser on military affairs, and placed a number of allies in senior posts.

Saudi Arabia’s deportation of thousands of Yemeni workers – and the potential expulsion of tens of thousands more – are a significant blow to an economy which relies heavily on remittances from Yemenis abroad. Riyadh is cracking down on migrant workers whose paperwork is not in order, part of efforts to get companies to comply with strict new quotas on how many Saudis they employ. Yemen – which has around a million workers in Saudi Arabia – will be badly affected: officials say more than 200,000 Yemenis could be sent home. 


Yemen is in a very fragile state. After 33 years of rule, president Ali Abdullah Saleh let go of power in February 2012, and the nation entered a two-year transitional period intended to steer it towards democracy and stability. His successor,Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, has inherited a nation beset by violence and competing factions. A smouldering insurgency in the north, secessionism in the south, a powerful jihadist movement and remnants of the old guard are all high on the agenda.

Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference began on 18 March in Sanaa, bringing together more than 500 representatives of various political and social factions. Under the slogan “By dialogue, we make the future”, the conference – which aims (among other things) to come up with a new constitution – was opened by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi at the Presidential House.

With just weeks to go until the 18 March opening of Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference, the technical committee overseeing preparations put its work on ice, following unrest in the south and the arrest of Qassem Asker Jubran, a leader of one of the more radical factions of the Hiraq Al-Janoubi, the Southern Movement.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has warned against attempts to destabilise Yemen and threatened the possibility of measures including sanctions, after Sanaa, vocally backed by the United States, sent a formal request asking the council to look into the case of a ship seized in Yemeni waters that it says was carrying weapons made in Iran.

Yemen’s National Dialogue will begin on 18 March. Announcing the start date on 6 February, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi called on “concerned parties” to submit a list of representatives who will take part in the “strategic and historic opportunity to forge the desired future for a civil and modern state”.