National Liberation Front (South Yemen)

National Liberation Front
Flag of the National Liberation Front[1]
Active1963–1978
Country Federation of South Arabia (until 1967)
Protectorate of South Arabia (until 1967)
 South Yemen (from 1967)
Allegiance South Yemen
TypeGuerrilla
RoleGuerrilla warfare
Garrison/HQMountains of Yemen
EquipmentSmall arms and dynamite
EngagementsAden Emergency
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Qahtan Muhammad al-Shaabi
Jarallah Omar
Insignia
Identification
symbol
Initials "NLF"

The National Liberation Front (NLF; Arabic: الجبهة القومية للتحرير, romanizedal-jabhat al-qawmiyya lil-taḥrīr) was a Marxist–Leninist paramilitary organization and a political party operating in the Federation of South Arabia, (now southern Yemen) during the Aden Emergency. During the North Yemen Civil War, fighting spilled over into South Yemen as the British attempted to establish an autonomous colony known as the Federation of South Arabia. Following the exit of the British armed forces, the NLF seized power from its rival, the Arab nationalist Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) (FLOSY). In the aftermath of the Emergency, the NLF renamed itself the National Front and eventually became the main force behind the creation of the Yemeni Socialist Party, which subsequently governed the country as a single-party Marxist–Leninist state.