ABSTRACT
The civil war in Yemen which broke out at the end of April 1994 was the result of rivalry between the southern Yemini Vice-President, Ali Salim al-Bid, and the northern President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Northern authorities, believing that al-Bid was plotting to overthrow President Saleh, identified arms caches in San’a and launched a pre-emptive attack on southern troops garrisoned in the north. Northern troops rapidly advanced towards Aden and southern forces were unable to block the advance in the mountainous area south of the border. Northern forces spent some time overcoming the garrison of the southern Russian-built base at Al-Anad, 40km north of Aden, before the open desert surrounding Aden was reached. A major step forward was taken towards an overall Middle East peace settlement when it was revealed at the end of August 1993 that Israel and the PLO, during secret talks held in Oslo, had agreed formally to recognise each other.
