The Presidential Palace, also known as the Republican Palace, was the official residence of the

president of Yemen The president of the Republic of Yemen () is the head of state of Yemen. Under the Constitution of Yemen, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and head of the executive branch of the Yemeni government. As of 7 Apri ...

. It was located in the al-Sabeen neighborhood of southern

Sana'a, Yemen Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation o ...

, near Saleh Mosque and al-Sabeen Square (where many pro-Ali Abdullah Saleh political rallies and military parades were held when

Ali Abdullah Saleh Ali Abdullah Saleh Affash (21 March 1947There is a dispute as to Saleh's date of birth, some saying that it was on 21 March 1942. See: However, by Saleh's own confession (an interview recorded in a YouTube video), he was born in 1947.4 Decembe ...

was in power). The palace area was a heavy security zone, guarded by the Presidential Defense Forces (formerly the Republican Guard) and was not open to the public. On June 3, 2011, during the

2011 Yemeni Revolution The Yemeni revolution (or Yemeni intifada) followed the initial stages of the Tunisian revolution and occurred simultaneously with the 2011 Egyptian revolution and other Arab Spring protests in the Middle East and North Africa. In its e ...

, the Presidential Palace was subject to an assassination attack on President Saleh and many government and state officials by opposition tribesmen. It left Saleh injured and seven other top government officials wounded. Saleh, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the parliament chief, the governor of Sana'a and a presidential aide were wounded while they were praying at a mosque inside the palace compound.Jamjoom, Mohammed

" ''CNN'', 8 June 2011. Four presidential guards and Sheikh Ali Mohsen al-Matari, an imam at the mosque, were killed. On January 20, 2015, the palace was taken over by the

Houthis The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, is a Zaydism, Zaydi Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. It is predominantly made up of Zaydi Shias, with their namesake leadersh ...

rebel group. President

Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi (born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former military officer who served as the second president of Yemen from 2012 until his resignation in 2022. He previously served as the second vice president of Yemen fro ...

was present but was not harmed. On May 7, 2018, targeted airstrikes by the

Saudi-led coalition On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sa ...

left the palace "completely flattened" and damaged surrounding buildings. At least six fatalities and thirty injuries are reported.

Notes

Presidential residences Buildings and structures in Sanaa Buildings and structures demolished in 2018 Demolished buildings and structures in Yemen 2018 disestablishments in Yemen Palaces in Yemen {{Yemen-struct-stub