ABSTRACT
The state of South Yemen resulted from British occupation of Aden as a coaling and strategic location in 1839. To ensure the security of Aden, the neighbouring sheikhdoms were cultivated and the Federation of South Arabia was achieved in 1962. In November 1967, the UK withdrew and power was taken by the National Liberation Front (NLF) in the form of a radical one-party state. As a Soviet-supported Marxist state, the country was renamed the Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), but there were few resources other than the port of Aden, which declined rapidly. Thus, the state was largely reliant upon aid from the Soviet Union. The USA is currently carrying out feasibility studies of Aden and Mocha as future naval bases. Having been considered something of a pariah state following the Gulf War. Yemen now has generally good relations with all its neighbours, including Oman, with whom its boundary was demarcated in 1992.
