The National Democratic Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf ( ar, الجبهة الوطنية الديمقراطية لتحرير عمان والخليج العربي, abbreviated NDFLOAG) was a guerrilla movement in the
Arabian peninsula.
NDFLOAG was formed in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
in 1969 by
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
i students (primarily studying in
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
) and other emigrees. Some had been members of
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
organizations (such as the
Arab Nationalist Movement
The Arab Nationalist Movement ( ar, حركة القوميين العرب, ''Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab''), also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a pan-Arab nationalist organization influential in much of the Ara ...
), others were hitherto unorganized opponents of the Omani government.
[Jim White.]
Oman 1965-1976: From Certain Defeat to Decisive Victory
, Small Wars Journal. In difference to the other, larger, rural guerrilla movement
(PFLOAG), NDFLOAG was predominantly an urban movement. NDFLOAG was supported by urban intellectuals. Ideologically, PFLOAG was
Marxist whilst NDFLOAG was
Ba'ath
Ba'athism, also stylized as Baathism, (; ar, البعثية ' , from ' , meaning "renaissance" or "resurrection"Hans Wehr''Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic'' (4th ed.), page 80) is an Arab nationalist ideology which promotes the creation ...
-oriented.
When it was publicly launched, NDFLOAG had branches in different towns in Oman and in most of the other parts of the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
.
[Allen, Calvin H., and W. Lynn Rigsbee. ]
Oman Under Qaboos: From Coup to Constitution, 1970–1996
'. London: Frank Cass, 2000. p. 28[Abir, Mordechai. ]
Oil, Power and Politics: Conflict in Arabia, the Red Sea and the Gulf
'. London: Cass, 1974. pp. 12-13, 69[Peterson, John. ]
Oman in the Twentieth Century: Political Foundations of an Emerging State
'. London: Croom Helm, 1978. p. 189
NDFLOAG began guerrilla operations in northern Oman on June 12, 1970 attacking garrisons at the towns of
Izki and
Nizwa
Nizwa ( ar, نِزْوَى, Nizwā) is the largest city in Ad Dakhiliyah Region in Oman and was the capital of Oman proper. Nizwa is about (1.5 hours) from Muscat. The population is estimated at around 72,000 people, including the two areas ...
with mortars. Both attacks failed. The attack on a
SAF army post outside Izki was repelled, and the entire unit was either killed or captured. Afterwards several arrests were made, based on testimonies from prisoners from the Izki raid, and three NDFLOAG arms caches in Muti, Sur and Matrah had been stored was seized by the state forces. These crack-downs lead to a temporary ceasing of NDFLOAG activities in Oman. The group continued to organize outside Oman.
[Townsend, John. ]
Oman: The Making of a Modern State
'. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1977. p. 74
Although the June 12, 1970 attacks had been fought off, they functioned as a catalyst for the groups that conspired against the
Sultan Said bin Taimur
Said bin Taimur ( ar, سعيد بن تيمور; 13 August 1910 – 19 October 1972) was the 13th Sultan of Muscat and Oman from 10 February 1932 until he was deposed on 23 July 1970 by his son Qaboos bin Said.
He was a member of the House of ...
(which soon thereafter led to the overthrow of the Sultan by his son
Qaboos bin Said
Qaboos bin Said Al Said ( ar, قابوس بن سعيد آل سعيد, ; 18 November 1940 – 10 January 2020) was Sultan of Oman from 23 July 1970 until his death in 2020. A fifteenth-generation descendant of the founder of the House of Al Said ...
, with
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
support).
The attacks had caught SAF by surprise, and the attacks contributed to the perception that Said bin Taimur was unable to defeat the insurgency.
In 1971, having suffered military setbacks, NDFLOAG began seeking cooperation with PFLOAG.
In December 1971 NDFLOAG and PFLOAG merged, forming the
,
[Shichor, Yitzhak. ]
The Middle East in China's Foreign Policy, 1949–1977
'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. p. 153 although the two groups retained separate organizational structures.
References
{{reflist
History of Oman
Arab nationalism in Oman
Arab nationalist militant groups
Paramilitary organizations based in Oman
Organizations established in 1969
Organizations disestablished in 1971
Guerrilla organizations
Ba'athist organizations