- President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen was wounded in a rocket attack on his compound in Sanaa, as government forces have been fighting tribal groups for nearly two weeks.
- Protests against Saleh's rule have been ongoing for four months, and government forces have opened fire on protesters multiple times, killing and wounding many.
- Islamist militants are taking advantage of the chaos to seize towns along Yemen's southern coast, threatening to plunge the country into civil war.