| NDF Rebellion | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theCold War and theArab Cold War | |||||||
 CIA map of the NDF area of operations in May 1982 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|  North Yemen Republic of ChinaIslamic Front Supported by:  United States | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Yahya ShamiSultan Ahmad Umar [ar]Jarallah Omar Abdul Fattah Ismail | Ali Abdullah SalehAli Mohsen al-Ahmar | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| |||||||
TheNDF Rebellion, also known as theCentral Regions war, was anuprising andcivil war in theYemen Arab Republic (North Yemen) by theNational Democratic Front, under Yahya Shami,[2] between 1978 and 1982.[3]
The rebellion began in 1978, following the assassination ofAhmad al-Ghashmi and the rise ofAli Abdullah Saleh.[3] The National Democratic Front (NDF) was supported in its rebellion bySouth Yemen[3] andLibya.[2] The NDF enjoyed various successes throughout the early phases of the conflict, although its foreign support dwindled after the peace treaty between North and South Yemen following the1979 border war.[3]
There were several attempts at ceasefires between the government and the NDF.Kuwait managed to facilitate the signing of a ceasefire between the government and the NDF on 26 November 1981, although hostilities re-erupted in December 1981.[2] Later, thePalestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was able to mediate a ceasefire agreement on 3 April 1982, but hostilities began again later that same month, with the NDF capturing Juban. Government forces in turn attacked NDF positions in Juban in the following month and retook the territory.[citation needed]
South Yemeni support for the NDF diminished under the presidency of the less overtly militantAli Nasir Muhammad,[3] and their support for the NDF finally ended in May 1982.[2]Dhamar, a major NDF stronghold, sustained major damage during the1982 North Yemen earthquake.[4] The NDF was eventually defeated by a reorganized North Yemeni Army in conjunction with the pro-government Islamic Front, allowing the North Yemeni government to finally establish control over the North-South border region.[3]
Bypassing congressional approval, the administration rushed nearly $499 million worth of modern weaponry to North Yemen, including 64 M-60 tanks, 70 armored personnel carriers, and 12 F-5E aircraft. Included were an estimated 400 American advisers and 80 Taiwanese pilots to pilot the sophisticated warplanes that no Yemeni knew how to fly.
|
