September 21 Revolution Anniversary in Yemen Date in the current year: September 21, 2026

Yemen has endured an ongoing political crisis since the 2011 Yemeni Revolution, which escalated into a civil war in 2014. Part of the wider Arab Spring, the revolution began in January 2011 in response to poverty, unemployment, corruption, and the increasingly authoritarian regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

After nearly a year of protests, Saleh signed a power transfer agreement under which he would resign as president and transfer power to his vice president, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, in exchange for immunity from prosecution. The opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties accepted the agreement, but it was rejected many protesters and the Houthis, an Islamist political and military organization. The relationship between the Houthis and the Yemeni government had been strained since the 2004 attempt to arrest Houthi leader Hussein al-Houthi, which led to a series of insurgencies.

In February 2012, Hadi was officially elected president, running unopposed. The Houthis boycotted the election and did not receive any seats in Hadi’s cabinet. The Houthi insurgency rekindled in the months that followed, escalating in August 2014 when the Houthis began a series of protests in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, against rising fuel prices. On September 9, security forces opened fire on the protesters, killing seven people.

A week later, fighting broke out between the Houthis and government forces. The situation escalated on September 18, when the Houthis attempted to seize the Yemeni TV headquarters, resulting in 40 deaths. The following day, the Houthis launched a full-scale attack on the city, aiming to wrest control of Sanaa from the government. By September 21, the Houthis had taken over the government, military, and television headquarters, declaring themselves in control of Sanaa.

The Houthis’ capture of Sanaa resulted in Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa’s resignation on September 24, 2014. This was followed by President Hadi’s and his cabinet’s resignation on January 22, 2015. Despite these resignations, intended to appease the Houthis, the Hadi government was internationally recognized as Yemen’s legitimate government until the transfer of power to the Presidential Leadership Council in 2022.

Since the Houthi takeover, the country has been embroiled in a civil war, with the Houthis controlling northern Yemen. Huthi authorities in Sanaa officially celebrate September 21 as the September 21 Revolution Anniversary. Opposing Yemeni authorities use different terminology, describing the fall of Sanaa as a Houthi takeover and not recognizing September 21 as an official holiday. The Houthis are believed to have created the holiday in an attempt to overshadow the celebration of September Revolution Day on September 26, which commemorates the establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic in 1962.