Yemeni civil war (1994)

This article is about the Yemeni civil war of 1994. For other civil wars in Yemen, see Yemeni civil war (disambiguation).

The Yemeni civil war of 1994 (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية اليمنية (1994)), known in Yemen as the 1994 Summer War (Arabic: حرب صيف 1994), was a civil war fought between the two Yemeni forces of the pro-union northern and the socialist separatist southern Yemeni states and their supporters. The war resulted in the defeat of the southern separatists and the reunification of Yemen, and the flight into exile of many leaders of the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) and other separatists.

Yemeni civil war (1994)
Part of the effects of the Cold War and the Arab Cold War
Southern separatist soldiers taking cover behind a T-55 tank
Date 4 May – 7 July 1994 (2 months and 3 days) Location Yemen Result Unionist Yemeni victory Reaffirmation of Yemeni unification under a northern government Purge of Yemeni socialism and the left Further tensions in Yemen eventually lead to a Yemeni crisis and outbreak of another civil war
Belligerents
Yemen Jihadists Islamic Jihad in Yemen Supported by: United States Jordan Qatar Egypt Libya Sudan Iran India	Democratic Republic of Yemen Supported by: Saudi Arabia Oman Lebanon Iraq Kuwait Bahrain UAE Cuba North Korea China
Commanders and leaders
Ali Abdullah Saleh Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar Abdul Majeed al-Zindani Tariq al-Fadhli	Ali Salem al Beidh  Ali Mohammed Assadi
Casualties and losses
931 soldiers and civilians killed 5,000 wounded (N. Yemen claim)	6,000 fighters and 513 civilians killed
7,000–10,000 dead Unknown number of socialist and separatist civilians executed

Background

South Yemen had witnessed 2 civil wars that led to regime changes in the 1980s. As a result, serious moves toward reconciliation and unification began. And in December 1989, the president of North Yemen and South Yemen signed a draft constitution and agreed to a one-year timetable for unification.

Approval for the union was overwhelming in the South, but the northern Islamist party Al-Islah objected due to the new constitutional clause making Islamic law "a principal source of legislation" rather than the sole source. Eventually the YAR's parliament approved the constitution and, the Republic of Yemen (ROY) was declared on 22 May 1990 with Ali Abdullah Saleh becoming president and Ali Salem al Beidh Vice President. Greater Yemen had been politically united for the first time in centuries. Yemen held its first parliamentary elections on April 27, 1993, which confirmed the southerner fears. Former President of South Yemen, Ali Salim Al-Beidh's party (Yemeni Socialist Party, YSP) won only 54 of the 301 parliament seats, while former president of Northern Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) took 122 seats and a northern Islamist-tribal alliance, Al-Islah, captured 62 seats. Saleh, Beidh, and Attas retained their positions but Al-Islah's influential leader, the Sheikh Abdullah ibn Husayn al-Ahmar of the Hashid tribal confederation, became speaker of the parliament. The former 50–50 split between the GPC and YSP became an uneven three-way partnership.

Relations between Saleh and many Left-wing politicians soured over the next years. The President eventually began to enlist Islamists to weaken his opponents, and allowed them to build up a presence in the country. Jihadists consequently assassinated several Southern communists.

Vice President Ali Salem al Beidh withdrew to Aden in August 1993 and said he would not return to the government until his grievances were addressed. These included northern violence against his Yemeni Socialist Party, as well as the economic marginalization of the south. Negotiations to end the political deadlock dragged on into 1994. The government of Prime Minister Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas, the former South Yemen Prime Minister, became ineffective due to political infighting.

An accord between northern and southern leaders was signed in Amman, Jordan on 20 February 1994, but this could not stop the crisis. During these tensions, both the northern and southern armies–which had never integrated–gathered on their respective frontiers.

Events

Ali Abdullah Saleh speech of 1 May 1994, Members of the Third Armored Brigade

On 27 April, a major tank battle erupted in Amran, near Sana'a. Both sides accused the other of starting it. On 4 May, the southern air force bombed San'a and other areas in the north; the northern air force responded by bombing Aden. President Saleh declared a 30-day state of emergency, and foreign nationals began evacuating the country. Vice President al-Beidh was officially dismissed. South Yemen also fired Scud missiles into San'a, killing dozens of civilians. Prime Minister Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas was dismissed on May 10 after appealing for outside forces to help end the war.

On 20 May 1994, northern forces claimed to have overrun Al Anad Air Base, one of the key entry points to Aden. Later that day, President Saleh announced a three-day ceasefire for the occasion of the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday.

Southern leaders seceded and declared the Democratic Republic of Yemen (DRY) on 21 May 1994. Saleh responded by calling on Islamists to support his cause, with several factions coming to the aid of the North.

No international government recognized the DRY. In mid-May, northern forces began a push toward Aden. The key city of Ataq, which allowed access to the country's oil fields, was seized on May 24. The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 924 calling for an end to the fighting and a cease-fire. A cease-fire was called on 6 June, but lasted only six hours; concurrent talks to end the fighting in Cairo collapsed as well. Northern troops and Jihadist forces led by Tariq al-Fadhli entered Aden on 4 July, factually ending the conflict. Supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad greatly assisted military operations against the secessionists. After Aden's fall, most resistance quickly collapsed and top southern military and political leaders fled into exile.

Despite the civil war being a short conflict, it was brutal and fought fiercely. Virtually all of the fighting in the civil war occurred in the southern part of the country, despite air and missile attacks from the south against cities and major installations in the north. Southerners sought support from neighbouring states and reportedly received military assistance from Saudi Arabia and Oman, which felt threatened by a united Yemen The United States repeatedly called for a cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table. Various attempts, including by a UN special envoy and Russia, were unsuccessful to effect a cease-fire.

Aftermath

President Saleh had gained control over all of Yemen. A general amnesty was declared, except for 16 southern figures; legal cases against four — Ali Salem al Beidh, Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas, Abd Al-Rahman Ali Al-Jifri, and Salih Munassar Al-Siyali — were prepared, for misappropriation of official funds.

YSP leaders within Yemen reorganized following the civil war and elected a new politburo in July 1994. However, much of its influence had been destroyed in the war. President Ali Abdallah Saleh was elected by Parliament on 1 October 1994 to a 5-year term. However, he remained in office until 2012.

As of 2007, a group called the South Yemen Movement calling for the secession of the south and the re-establishment of an independent southern state has grown in strength across many parts of south Yemen, leading to an increase in tensions and often violent clashes.

See also

• List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
• South Yemen Movement
• South Yemen insurgency

References

Works cited

• Said, Behnam T. (2018). Geschichte al-Qaidas. Bin Laden, der 11. September und die tausend Fronten des Terrors heute [History of al-Qaeda. Bin Laden, the 11th September, and the thousand fronts of terror today] (in German). Munich: C.H. Beck. ISBN 978-3-406-72585-2.

External links

• Yemeni Civil War - 1994
• The Birth of Modern Yemen - The outbreak of war Archived 2015-07-27 at the Wayback Machine