Yemenite War of 1979

The Yemenite War of 1979 was a short military conflict between North and South Yemen. The war developed out of a breakdown in relations between the two countries after the Presidents of both were overthrown in coups. The hostility of the rhetoric from the new leadership of both countries escalated, leading to small scale border fighting, which then in turn escalated into a full blown war in February 1979. North Yemen appeared on the edge of a decisive defeat, however this was prevented by a successful mediation in the form of the Kuwait Agreement of 1979, which resulted in Arab League forces being deployed to patrol the North-South border. An agreement to unite both countries was also signed, although was not implemented.

Conflict
South Yemen was alleged to be supplying aid to rebels in the north through the National Democratic Front and crossing the border.

On 28 February, forces from North and South Yemen began firing at each other across the border. Force from North Yemen, led by some radical army officers, crossed the border into South Yemen and attacked a number of villages. The PDRY, with support from the Soviet Union, Cuba, and East Germany, responded by invading the north. The PDRY was also supported by the NDF, who were in the midst of fighting their own rebellion against the government of North Yemen.

With the war escalating, Saudi Arabia and the United States rushed arms to bolster the government of North Yemen. Citing the alleged Soviet-backed PDRY aggression against the YAR, and the threat this could pose to US-ally Saudi Arabia, the United States greatly stepped up military assistance to the YAR government.

As part of this the US shipped 12 F-5E planes to the YAR in order to strengthen the government. However, there were no YAR pilots trained in flying the F-5E, and as a result the US and Saudi Arabia arranged to have 80 Taiwanese pilots plus ground crew and anti-air defense units sent to North Yemen.

A US Navy taskforce was also sent to the Arabian Sea in response to the escalating violence. Southern forces made it as far as the city of Taizz before withdrawing.

Kuwait Agreement of 1979
In March the leaders of North and South Yemen met in Kuwait for a reconciliation summit, in part at the strong insistence of Iraq. The talks were mediated by the Arab League. Under the Kuwait Agreement, both parties reaffirmed their commitment to the goal and process of Yemeni Unification, as had been spelled out in the Cairo Agreement of 1972. This agreement to unify was particularly the result of pressure from Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait, all of whom advocated for a unified Arab world in order to best respond to the issues arising from the Camp David accords, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iranian Revolution. Work for a draft constitution for a united Yemen proceeded over the next two years, however most attempts to implement the spirit and letter of the agreement were put on hold until 1982, and the end of the rebellion by the South Yemen supported National Democratic Front.