South Yemen civil war
The South Yemen civil war, colloquially referred to as the events of '86 or the events of January 13, or more simply as the events, was a failed coup d'etat and armed conflict which took place on January 13, 1986, in South Yemen. The civil war developed as a result of ideological differences, and later tribal tensions, between two factions of the ruling Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP), centred on Abdul Fattah Ismail's faction, at-Toghmah, and Ali Nasir Muhammad's faction, az-Zomrah, for the leadership of the YSP and the PDRY. The conflict quickly escalated into a costly civil war that lasted eleven days and resulted in thousands of casualties. Additionally, the conflict resulted in the demise of much of the Yemeni Socialist Party's most experienced socialist leadership cadre, contributing to a much weaker government and the country's eventual unification with North Yemen in 1990.
Not to be confused with North Yemen civil war, Yemeni civil war (1994), or South Yemen insurgency.War[edit]
On January 13, 1986, bodyguards of Ali Nasir Muhammad opened fire on members of the Yemeni Socialist Party politburo as the body was due to meet. As most of the politburo members were armed and had their own bodyguards, a firefight broke out. Ali Nasir's supporters were not in the meeting room at the time. Vice-president Ali Ahmad Nasir Antar, Defense minister Saleh Muslih Qassem and the YSP disciplinary chief Ali Shayi' Hadi were killed in the shootout. Abdul Fattah Ismail survived the attack but was apparently killed later on that day as naval forces loyal to Ali Nasir shelled the city.[4][5]
Fighting lasted for 12 days and resulted in thousands of casualties, the ouster of Ali Nasir's, and the deaths of Abdul Fattah Ismail, Ali Antar, Saleh Muslih, and Ali Shayi'. Some 60,000 people, including Ali Nasir and his brigade, fled to the YAR. In the conflict that took the lives of anywhere from 4,000 to 6,000 people, al-Beidh was one of the few high-ranking officials of Abdul Fattah's faction on the winning side who survived.[1]
Succession[edit]
A former Politburo member, al-Beidh took the top position in the YSP following a 12-day 1986 civil war between forces loyal to former chairman Abdul Fattah Ismail and then-chairman Ali Nasir Muhammad. An Ismail ally, he took control after Mohammad's defeat and defection, and Ismail's death.[6][7]