Second Yemenite War

This article is about the Second Yemenite War. For other civil wars in Yemen, see Yemeni War.
Second Yemenite War
Part of the Cold War and the Arab Cold War

North & South Yemen
Date24 February – 19 March 1979
(3 weeks and 2 days)
Location
North Yemen-South Yemen border
Result

Decisive Southern Yemeni victory

  • Kuwait Agreement of 1979
  • No territorial changes
  • Two Yemens re-pledge ambition to unify
Belligerents
 South Yemen
Supported by:
  North Yemen
Supported by:
Commanders and leaders
Abdul Fattah Ismail Yemen Arab Republic Ali Abdullah Saleh
Units involved
3 South Yemeni Army divisions
1 Air Force Tactical Regiment (4 MiG-21 and Su-22 Squadrons – 32 aircraft)		 1 North Yemeni Army Division
1 Air Defence Brigade
2 Air Force squadrons – 18 aircraft
1 Mechanised Brigade (late entry)
Strength
120,000 total
45,000 in theater
600 tanks total
300 tanks in theater		 300,000 total
1900 tanks in total
350 tanks in theater
Casualties and losses
412 ground troops KIA, 125 POW
12 T-55 tanks destroyed
2 Su-22s downed in combat		 672 ground troops KIA, 1,624 POW
6 MiG-17 aircraft and 3 MiG-21 destroyed on ground, 4 MiG-17 and 2 MiG-21 shot down in combat, 4 pilots POW; 5 Mi-17s destroyed on ground
46 T-34 and T-55 Tanks destroyed
16 SA-3 launchers destroyed; 34 P-15 radars and 6 P-12 radars destroyed

The Second 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).[1] The war developed out of a breakdown in relations between the two countries after the president of North Yemen, Ahmad al-Ghashmi, was killed on 24 June 1978, and Salim Rubai Ali, a Maoist who had been working on a proposed merger between the two Yemens, was murdered two days later.[2] The hostility of the rhetoric from the new leadership of both countries escalated, leading to small-scale border fighting, which then in turn escalated into a full-blown war in February 1979.

North Yemen appeared on the edge of a decisive defeat after a three-front invasion by a South Yemeni combined arms formation,[3] however this was prevented by a successful mediation in the form of the Kuwait Agreement of 1979, which resulted in Arab League peacekeeping forces being deployed to patrol the North–South border. An agreement to unite both countries was also signed, although it was not implemented.[4]

  1. ^ Burrowes, Robert, Middle East dilemma: the politics and economics of Arab integration, Columbia University Press, 1999, pages 187 to 210
  2. ^ Kohn, George (2013). Dictionary of Wars. Routledge. ISBN 978-1135955014.
  3. ^ Burrowes, Robert D. (2010). Historical Dictionary of Yemen. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 190.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference War Dict 615 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).