Arab League foreign ministers meet to contain the conflict

After an internal power struggle in Aden, Salim Rubaya Ali was executed and the faction led by Abd al-Fattah Ismail consolidated authority. The two assassinations in June deepened reciprocal suspicion...

A presidential council selected Saleh after al-Ghashmi’s death. He began consolidating a new governing coalition as North Yemen faced internal armed opposition and rising tensions with the south.

Several southern political organizations were consolidated into the Yemen Socialist Party, which became the ruling party of the PDRY. The reorganization followed violent factional struggles over the...

Fighting between the two republics escalated into a short interstate war in late February. Both governments accused the other of supporting armed opponents and cross-border incursions; the conflict...

The parties agreed to a ceasefire after mediation by Syria and Iraq. The process called for forces to withdraw toward the border and established Arab committees to monitor political and military...

After civilians fled the fighting, the ICRC launched an emergency appeal and supported the Yemen Arab Republic Red Crescent’s assistance for approximately 45,000 internally displaced people.

The governments signed a joint declaration outlining steps toward unity and improved relations. The agreement revived, in a new form, the unification goal first set out in Cairo in 1972.

The two sides renewed discussions on a shared constitutional framework and joint institutions. The diplomacy did not immediately end the northern insurgency or eliminate border tensions.

A U.S. diplomatic assessment describes Saudi political backing and financing for U.S. weapons after the 1979 border war, as Ali Abdullah Saleh faced pressure from South Yemen. This archival account...

Ali Nasir became president of South Yemen after Ismail stepped aside and left the country. Rivalries within the ruling party remained unresolved and later contributed to the 1986 fighting.