South Yemen civil war
South Yemen civil war | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Arab Cold War | |||||||
map of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen) in red | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Abdul Fattah Ismail's faction, al-Toghmah | Ali Nasir Muhammad's faction, al-Zomrah | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Abdul Fattah Ismail (MIA) Mobilized tribal militias |
Ali Nasir Muhammad Abyan Mobilized tribal militias | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
4,000 – 6,000 dead[1] 60,000 refugees |
The South Yemen civil war, colloquially referred to as the events of '86 or the events of January 13, or more simply as the events, was a failed
Background
This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2018) |
Following the end of the Aden Emergency and the achievement of South Yemeni independence in 1967, the National Liberation Front (NLF) was handed power over the country following negotiations in Geneva with the British government. A broadly left-wing nationalist insurgent organization, the NLF had sought to unite the forces of the Aden petroleum and port workers' trade unions, Nasserites, and Communists. The last of these factions was led by Abdul Fattah Ismail, a founding member of the NLF and its chief Marxist ideologue. During the Emergency, Ismail had led the armed cadres of the NLF in Aden, and was supported by many of the insurgents who had seen action against the British. In 1969, with support from the Soviet Union, Ismail used this popularity among the nascent South Yemeni army to seize control of the NLF, and in June he was declared its General Secretary.
Ismail pursued aggressive and revolutionary domestic and foreign policies. At home, the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen adopted a
Following the failure of the insurgency in Oman in 1978 and simmering hostilities with North Yemen including the
The Soviet Union attempted to play a mediating role from its naval base in Yemen which hosted 1,000-1,800 troops in 1986.[2][3]
In June 1985, the YSP politburo adopted a resolution stating that anyone who resorted to violence in settling internal political disputes is considered a criminal and a betrayer of the homeland.[4]
War
On January 13, 1986, bodyguards of
Fighting lasted for 12 days and resulted in thousands of casualties, the ouster of Ali Nasir's, and the deaths of Abdul Fattah Ismail, Ali Antar, Saleh Muslih, and Ali Shayi'. Some 60,000 people, including Ali Nasir and his brigade, fled to the YAR. In the conflict that took the lives of anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 people, al-Beidh was one of the few high-ranking officials of Abdul Fattah's faction on the winning side who survived.[1]
Succession
A former Politburo member, al-Beidh took the top position in the YSP following a 12-day 1986 civil war between forces loyal to former chairman Abdul Fattah Ismail and then-chairman Ali Nasir Muhammad. An Ismail ally, he took control after Mohammad's defeat and defection, and Ismail's death.[6][7]
Aftermath
Unification of Yemen and 1994 civil war
Suffering a loss of more than half its aid from the Soviet Union from 1986 to 1989,[8] and an interest in possible oil reserves on the border between the countries, al-Beidh's government worked toward unification with North Yemen officials.[9][10]
Efforts toward unification proceeded from 1988. Although the governments of the PDRY and the YAR declared that they approved a future union in 1972, little progress was made toward unification, and relations were often strained.
In 1990,
Southern movement
In 2007 southern army officers and security officials who had been forced into retirement after the 1994 war started demonstrations calling for their reinstatement or compensation. The protests gradually developed into a movement for autonomy or independence of the former PDRY.[citation needed]
See also
- South Yemen Movement
- List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
References
- ^ ISBN 0-521-89164-7.
- ^ "32. South Yemen (1967-1990)". uca.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
- ^ New York Times. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-84885-635-6.
- ISBN 0-275-97733-1.
- ISBN 0-8139-1148-6.
- ^ Hurd, Robert; Noakes, Greg (July–August 1994). "North and South Yemen Lead Up to the Break Up". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. p. 48.
- ISBN 0-7546-4864-8.
- ^ Coswell, Alan (October 20, 1989). "2 Yemens Let Animosity Fizzle into Coziness". New York Times.
- ISBN 978-1-84885-635-6.