First Yemenite War
short military conflict between North and South Yemen
The First Yemenite War was a short military conflict between the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; North Yemen) and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY; South Yemen).
Background
South Arabian League (SAL) rebels attacked positions in eastern South Yemen, arriving from Saudi Arabia on February 20, 1972. The rebels were defeated by South Yemen government troops on February 24, 1972, with some 175 rebels killed during the military hostilities. Prime Minister Ali Nasir Muhammad survived an assassination attempt by SAL rebels on May 22, 1972. Six persons were sentenced to death for plotting to overthrow the government on July 9, 1972. Saudi Arabia continued to oppose South Yemen and supported the Northern Yemeni troops in the upcoming struggle.
Conflict
The war, initiated by North Yemen, started on 26 September 1972, the tenth anniversary of the start of the North Yemen Civil War. A force composed of members of different political groups and exiled tribesmen from South Yemen, equipped with Alvis Saladin armoured cars provided by Libya and artillery donated by the North Yemeni military, invaded South Yemen in the Qatabah area. In response, the South Yemenis brought several of their battalions to the area of the border with the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen). The South Yemeni air force (PDRYAF) also started bombing the areas invaded by the Northerners, and their military positions.
“First Yemenite War” enters the record as short military conflict between North and South Yemen. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what First, Yemenite and short can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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