# Outbreak of the 1994 Civil War (4 May – 7 July 1994)

URL: https://allhistories.com/yemen/timeline/1994-outbreak-of-the-1994-civil-war
Location: Aden and Sanaa
Themes: Civil war, Unification

Full-scale fighting between the northern and southern armies began on 4 May 1994, after weeks of clashes in which about 200 people were reported killed and hundreds wounded. Northern forces captured Dhale on 12 May, claimed Al-Anad air base on 20 May and seized Ataq on 24 May, which gave them access to the oil fields. The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 924 on 1 June. The war grew from rivalry between the northern president and the southern vice president over power-sharing, and from southern claims of economic and political marginalisation, including grievances over Hadhramaut's oil revenue. The two armies had never been merged, and assassinations of southern figures heightened fears. Economic strain also mattered, since about 800,000 workers expelled by Saudi Arabia had returned after the Gulf War. Northern forces won, and the infobox of Wikipedia's article gives an estimate of 7,000 to 10,000 dead and about 500,000 displaced. Losses were put at roughly 10 billion dollars. The conflict ended the dual leadership of unity, strengthened the northern establishment and left a legacy of southern grievance that later fed the Southern Movement of 2007 and calls for secession. At this point in the timeline (1994), Yemen's head of state was Ali Abdullah Saleh, president of the Republic of Yemen (22 May 1990 – 27 February 2012), while Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas headed the government.

## Why it matters
The war cemented northern dominance of the unified state and created southern grievances that resurfaced in the 2007 Southern Movement and later separatist politics.

Ruler at the Time: [Ali Abdullah Saleh (President of Yemen)](https://allhistories.com/yemen/rulers/ali-abdullah-saleh-president-of-yemen)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 1994 civil war in Yemen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994_civil_war_in_Yemen)
- [Wikipedia — Yemeni unification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_unification)