Dhofar Rebellion The Dhofar Rebellion ( ) was launched in the province of Dhofar against the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman , which had British support , from 1962 to 1976 . It ended with the defeat of the rebels , but the state of Oman had to be radically reformed and modernized to cope with the campaign . Background . In 1962 , Oman was a comparatively underdeveloped country in the Middle East . Sultan Said bin Taimur , the absolute ruler , had outlawed almost all aspects of twentieth - century development and relied on British support to maintain the rudimentary functions of the state . Dhofar itself was a dependency of Oman and it was subjected to severe economic exploitation . Moreover , the population of Dhofar , who speak various modern South Arabian languages , were subjected to even greater restrictions than other Omanis . The province of Dhofar consists of an intermittent narrow , fertile coastal plain , on which stand Salalah , the provincial capital , and other towns such as Mughsayl , Taqah and Mirbat . Behind this are the rugged hills of the Jebel Dhofar . The western portion of this range is known as the Jebel Qamar , the central part as the Jebel Qara and the eastern part as the Jebel Samhan . From June to September each year , the jebel receives moisture - laden winds ( the Khareef or monsoon ) and is shrouded in cloud . As a result , it is heavily vegetated , and for much of the year is green and lush . The inhabitants of the villages and communities on the jebel were known as " jibalis " . To the north , the hills slope down via rough wadi s and cliffs into the gravel plains and sand seas of the Empty Quarter . History . Early years of the rebellion . In 1962 a dissatisfied tribal leader , Mussalim bin Nafl , formed the Dhofar Liberation Front ( DLF ) and obtained arms and vehicles from Saudi Arabia . Saudi Arabia and Oman had earlier clashed over ownership of the Buraimi Oasis , and the Saudis had already supported two failed insurrections in the Jebel Akhdar in the interior of Oman in 1957 – 59 . The DLF also received support from Imam Ghalib Bin Ali , the exiled Imam of Oman , who had led these earlier revolts . Bin Nafl and his men made an epic crossing of the Empty Quarter to reach Dhofar . As early as December 1962 , Bin Nafl ' s guerrilla band performed sabotage operations on the British air base at Salalah and ambushed oil industry vehicles ; however , they then withdrew , having been sent by Saudi Arabia to Iraq for more guerrilla training . From 1964 the DLF began a campaign of hit - and - run attacks on oil company installations and government posts . Many of the DLF were trained former soldiers of the Sultan of Oman ' s Armed Forces ( SAF ) , or of the Trucial Oman Scouts in the United Arab Emirates . The Sultan had relied on the " Dhofar Force " , a locally - recruited irregular unit of only 60 men , to maintain order in the region . In April 1966 , members of this unit attempted to assassinate the Sultan . This event apparently changed the nature of the conflict . The Sultan retired to his palace in Salalah , never to be seen in public again . This only served to add to rumours that the British were running Oman through a " phantom " Sultan . The Sultan also launched a full - scale military offensive against the DLF , contrary to the advice of his British advisors . Heavy - handed search and destroy missions were launched in Dhofar , villages were burned and wells were concreted over or blown up . A member of the SAF reported that after receiving heavy resistance , it " proved that the position was unattainable , and after blowing up the village wells we evacuated the camp . " An emboldened movement . From the early days of the rebellion , Nasserite and other left wing movements in neighbouring Yemen and in Aden were also involved . In 1967 , two events combined to give the Rebellion a more revolutionary complexion . One was the Six Day War which radicalised opinion throughout the Arab world . The other was the British withdrawal from Aden and the establishment of the People ' s Democratic Republic of Yemen ( PDRY ) . From this point , the rebels had a source of arms , supplies and training facilities adjacent to Dhofar , and fresh recruits from among groups in the PDRY . Training camps , logistical bases and other facilities were set up in the coastal town of Hawf , only a few miles from the border with Oman . In May 1968 , an attack by a battalion of the Sultan ' s Armed Forces against a rebel position at Deefa in the Jebel Qamar was defeated by heavily armed and well - organised and trained rebels . At a " Second Congress " of the insurgent movement in September 1968 , most of the official posts within the movement passed into the hands of radicals , and the movement renamed itself the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf ( " al - Jabha al - Sha ' abiya li - Tahrir al - Khalij al - ' Arabi al - Muhtall " ) , or PFLOAG . The move towards Marxism - Leninism ensured that the PFLOAG received sponsorship from both South Yemen and China . China in particular was quick to support the PFLOAG as it was a peasant - based organisation , giving it a strong Maoist credence . Chinese support for the PFLOAG also had another benefit for them , as it acted as a counterbalance to increasing Soviet influence in the Indian Ocean . China was quick to establish an embassy in Aden and " the Yemeni regime allowed its territory to be used for channelling weapons " to the PFLOAG . Both the Chinese and Soviets also provided members of the PFLOAG with indoctrination and training in unconventional warfare . The transformation of the DLF , combined with a new supply of Chinese and Soviet weaponry and better training , ensured that the armed wing of the PFLOAG turned into an effective fighting force . However , it also led to a split between those such as bin Nafl who were fighting mainly for local autonomy and recognition , and the more doctrinaire revolutionaries ( led by Mohammad Ahmad al - Ghassani ) . One of bin Nafl ' s lieutenants , Said bin Gheer , was an early and influential defector to the Sultan . Nevertheless , by 1969 the DLF and PFLOAG fighters ( known widely as " Adoo " ) had overrun much of the Jebel Dhofar , and cut the only road across it , that from Salalah to " Midway " ( Thumrait ) in the deserts to the north . They were well - armed with such weapons as the AK - 47 assault rifle . They also used heavy machine guns ( the DShK ) , mortars up to 82mm in calibre and 140mm BM - 14 or 122mm " Katyusha " rockets . By 1970 communists controlled the entire Jebel . Terror was then used to break up the tradition tribal structure . Five elderly sheikhs were pushed over a 450 feet high cliff . Other sheikhs were machine gunned with their sons . Children were forcibly removed from their families and sent to train in Yemen . Young men were sent to train for guerilla warfare in China and Russia . The units of the Sultan ' s Armed Forces were under strength with only 1 , 000 men in Dhofar in 1968 . They were also badly equipped , mainly with World War II vintage weapons such as bolt - action rifles , which were inferior to the PFLOAG ' s modern firearms . These rifles were replaced by the FN FAL only late in 1969 . Even the SAF ' s clothing and boots were ragged and unsuitable for the terrain . The units of the SAF were generally not properly trained to face hardy guerrillas on their own ground , and no Omani held a rank above that of Lieutenant ( a result of the Sultan ' s fears of opposition to his rule among the armed forces ) . The SAF generally were unable to operate in less than company strength on the jebel , and were mainly restricted to Salalah and its immediate area . Small detachments of the British RAF Regiment and Royal Artillery had to be deployed to protect the vital airfield at Salalah from infiltrators and from harassing mortar and rocket fire . Other insurgents in the north of Oman formed another organisation , the National Democratic Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf ( NDFLOAG ) . In June 1970 they attacked two SAF posts at Nizwa and Izki . They were repulsed but the incident convinced many ( including the Sultan ' s British advisers and backers ) that new leadership was required . Coup . On 23 July 1970 , Said bin Taimur was deposed . The coup was almost bloodless . Folklore has it that one of the plotters , two of the Sultan ' s bodyguard and the Sultan were slightly wounded , all by the Sultan himself . Sultan Said went into exile in London . He was replaced by his son , Qaboos bin Said , who immediately instigated major social , educational and military reforms . Qaboos had been well educated , first in Salalah by an old Arab scholar and then at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , after which he was commissioned into the Cameronians , a regiment of the British Army . He then completed his education sitting in on councils , attending committee meetings and visiting industry and administrative centres in Britain before returning to Oman . His " five point plan " involved : Within hours of the coup , British Special Air Service ( SAS ) soldiers were flown into Oman to further bolster the counterinsurgency campaign . They identified four main strategies that would assist the fight against the PFLOAG : The military commanders on the ground ( rather than the UK Ministry of Defence ) suggested the implementation of a " hearts and minds " campaign , which would be put into operation primarily by a troop ( 25 men ) from the SAS . The British government ( then under Conservative leader Edward Heath ) supported this unconventional approach to the counterinsurgency campaign . It approved the deployment of 20 personnel of the British Royal Engineers , who would aid in the construction of schools and health centres , and drilled wells for the population of Dhofar . A Royal Air Force medical team would also operate out of Salalah hospital , in order to open a humanitarian front in the conflict . The operation was almost a carbon copy of a system that had proved successful in the Malayan Emergency some twenty years previously . The British government additionally provided monetary support for the creation of the Dhofar Development Programme , whose aim was to wrest support from the PFLOAG through the modernisation of Dhofar . To assist in the civil development and coordinate it with the military operations , the command structure in Dhofar was reorganised , with the newly appointed Wāli or civilian governor ( Braik bin Hamoud ) being given equal status to the military commander of the Dhofar Brigade ( Brigadier Jack Fletcher to 1972 , Brigadier John Akehurst from that date ) . A major effort was made to counter rebel propaganda and induce the Dhofari population to support the government . In particular , appeals were made to Islam and to traditional tribal values and customs , against the rebels ' secular or materialistic teachings . A significant outlet for government propaganda was the many inexpensive Japanese transistor radios which were sold cheaply or distributed free to jibalis who visited Salalah and other government - held towns to sell firewood or vegetables . Although the PFLOAG could also broadcast propaganda by radio , the Government ' s propaganda was factual and low - key , while that of the rebels , broadcast by Radio Aden , was soon perceived to be exaggerated and stereotyped . Government counter - attacks . One step which had a major impact on the uprising was the announcement of an amnesty for surrendered fighters , and aid in defending their communities from rebels . A cash incentive was offered to rebels who surrendered , with a bonus if they brought their weapon . The surrendered rebels formed Firqat irregular units , trained by British Army Training Teams , or BATTs , from the British Special Air Service . Eighteen " Firqat " units , numbering from between 50 to 150 each , were eventually formed . They usually gave themselves names with connections to Islam , such as the " Firqat Salahadin " . ( Some of the PFLOAG units also gave themselves ideological names such as Ho Chi Minh or Che Guevara . ) These " firqat " irregular groups played a major part in denying local support to the rebels . Being " jibalis " themselves ( and in many cases with family connections among the communities on the Jebel ) , they were better at local intelligence - gathering and " hearts and minds " activities than the northern Omani or Baluchi personnel of the regular SAF . The first serious step in re - establishing the Sultan ' s authority on the Jebel took place in October 1971 , when " Operation Jaguar " was mounted , involving five " Firqat " units and two squadrons of the SAS . After hard fighting , the SAS and " Firqats " secured an enclave on the eastern Jebel Samhan from which they could expand . Meanwhile , the regular units of the SAF were expanded and re - equipped . Extra officers and NCO instructors from the British Army and Royal Marines ( and also the Pakistan Army ) were attached to all units ( there were nominally twenty - two British or contracted personnel with each infantry battalion ) while Omani personnel were educated and trained to become officers and senior NCOs . British specialist elements also rotated through Oman over several years including mortar locating radar troops and artillery observation officers . The revitalised SAF created fortified lines running north from the coast and up to the summit of the Jebel , to interdict the movement of rebels and the camel trains carrying their supplies from the PDRY . The " Leopard Line " had already been established in 1969 , but this line had to be abandoned during the monsoon season as it could not be supplied . The more effective " Hornbeam Line " was set up in 1971 , running north from Mughsayl on the coast . The lines consisted of fortified platoon and company outposts on commanding peaks , linked by barbed wire . The posts possessed mortars and some also had artillery , to provide cover for patrols and to harass rebel positions and tracks used by them . The SAF soldiers continually sortied from their outposts to set ambushes on the most likely enemy infiltration routes and mount attacks against rebel mortar - and rocket - launching positions . Anti - personnel land mines were sown on infiltration routes . The rebels also used anti - personnel mines against suspected SAF patrol bases , and even laid anti - tank land mines on tracks used by SAF vehicles . The Sultan of Oman ' s Air Force was also expanded , acquiring BAC Strikemaster and , later on , Hawker Hunter aircraft which provided air support to units on the ground , and eight Shorts Skyvan transport aircraft and eight Agusta Bell 205 transport helicopters which supplied " firqat " and SAF posts on the jebels . A flight of RAF Westland Wessex helicopters also operated from Salalah . On 17 April 1972 , a battalion of the SAF made a helicopter landing to capture a position codenamed " Simba " at Sarfait near the border with the PDRY . The captured position overlooked the rebels ' supply lines along the coastal plain , but did not block them . Although the demands on its transport aircraft and helicopters to maintain the post at Sarfait forced the SAF to abandon some positions in the eastern Jebel , Sarfait was nevertheless retained for four years . Defeat of the rebellion . As a result of the various measures undertaken by the Omani government , " firqats " and regular SAF , the rebels were being deprived both of local support and supplies from the PDRY . To retrieve the situation , they mounted a major attack on the coastal town of Mirbat during the monsoon season of 1972 . On 19 July 1972 , at the Battle of Mirbat , 250 " Adoo " attacked 100 assorted " Firqat " under training , paramilitary " askars " ( armed police ) and a detachment of the Special Air Service . In spite of the low khareef cloud cover , air support from Strikemaster aircraft was available , and helicopters landed SAS reinforcements . The " Adoo " were repulsed with heavy losses . From this point on , the rebel defeat was inevitable , although they defeated an offensive by the SAF in 1973 intended to seal the border with the PDRY and capture the main " Adoo " base in the Shershitti Caves . The " Adoo " earned the respect of their opponents for their resilience and skill . In January 1974 , after several splits and defections , the rebel movement renamed itself the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman . This public contraction of their aims coincided with a reduction in the support they received from the Soviet Union and China . Meanwhile , the " Adoo " were steadily cleared from the Jebel Qara and Jebel Samhan by " firqats " and were driven into the western part of the Jebel Qamar . As a result of Sultan Qaboos ' s diplomatic initiatives , the Shah of Iran had sent an Iranian Army brigade numbering 1 , 200 and with its own helicopters to assist the Sultan ' s Armed Forces in 1973 . The Iranian brigade first secured the Salalah - Thumrait road . In 1974 , the Iranian contribution was expanded into the Imperial Iranian Task Force , numbering 4 , 000 . They attempted to establish another interdiction line , codenamed the " Damavand Line " , running from " Manston " , a few miles east of Sarfait , to the coast near the border with the PDRY . Heavy opposition from the " adoo " , which included artillery fire from within the PDRY , thwarted this aim for several months . Eventually , the town of Rahkyut , which the PFLO had long maintained as the capital of their liberated territory , fell to the Iranian task force . In July 1975 , the SAF launched a second " final " offensive . An attack from " Simba " , intended to be a diversion , nevertheless succeeded in descending cliffs and slopes in total height to reach the coast at Dalqhut , and thus finally cut off the " Adoo " from their bases in the PDRY . Other SAF units finally captured Deefa , the Shershitti Caves and other defended positions in the Jebel Qamar . Hawker Hunter aircraft of the Sultan ' s Air Force , 31 of which had been transferred to the SAF from the Royal Jordanian Air Force , attacked artillery positions in the PDRY . Over the next few months , the remaining rebel fighters surrendered or sought sanctuary in the PDRY . The Rebellion was finally declared to be defeated in January 1976 , although isolated incidents took place as late as 1979 . Foreign involvement . Baluchis . The Sultan of Oman had also been the ruler of the port of Gwadur in Balochistan in Pakistan until 1958 . Baloch troops formed a substantial part of the Sultan ' s Army . During the rebellion , Oman sought to hire more Baluchi troops . One act of resistance against this was in 1979 when Hameed Baloch , an activist of the Baloch Students Organization ( BSO ) tried to shoot at an Omani military officer who was visiting Balochistan to recruit more Baluchi troops . As a leftist organization , the BSO expressed solidarity with the Dhofari rebels . Hameed Baloch was later executed by the Government of Pakistan for the incident , even though the Omani officer was unhurt .