670 Chapter 5
Kennedy offered American good offices to Sallal, Nasser, Faisal, and Hussein, but the
imam protested that the Americans did not consult him. The royalists, who maintained
representation at the United Nations, called on the UN to investigate UAR involve-
ment in Yemen and to conduct a plebiscite for the Yemeni tribes.
In December the United States extended recognition to the republican regime,
the UAR said that it would withdraw its troops when other states ended support
for the royalist regime and when the republican regime requested it, and the UN
General Assembly recognized the republican delegation. However, the fighting
continued.
On December 30, 1962, and January 1, 1963, UAR aircraft raided Saudi territory.
Prince Faisal ordered troop mobilization on the 3rd and increased aid for the royalists
the following day. On January 7, the Saudi government called for foreign troops to
leave Yemen, for aid to either side to end, for Yemenis to choose their regime, and for
an international commission to supervise these steps. Later in January Prince Faisal
said that Saudi Arabia would accept the decision of the other Arab countries if Egypt
would do the same. The republicans announced that they had killed 50 Jordanians and
Saudis and captured another 20 on February 2, 1963, and fighting continued through-
out the month. The republicans recaptured Marib on the 26th, which left the royalists
only in control of Harib.
In early March UN Secretary-General U Thant sent a fact-finding mission to
Yemen. In April 1963, with separate mediation efforts from U Thant’s representa-
tives Ralph Bunche and Ellsworth Bunker, the UAR and Saudi Arabia struck a deal.
The UAR agreed to withdraw its troops, Saudi Arabia agreed to end support for the
royalists, and UN observers would verify cooperation with a new demilitarized zone.
However, the royalists refused to accept the deal, so it fell through. Fighting continued
for the next several months.
On May 27, U Thant proposed a 200-person contingent of UN observers with
funding from the UAR and Saudi Arabia. At the request of the Soviet Union, the UN
Security Council considered U Thant’s proposal on June 10 and 11. They approved U
Thant’s mission for two months. The mission was on the ground in Yemen by July 20.
A stalemate developed, and negotiations secretly opened in August. The UN mission
reported that UAR troops appeared to be leaving in greater numbers than arriving, but
it could not verify whether that was true. The mission also noted that both sides had
failed to abide by April’s disengagement agreement. The fighting grew so bad in Sada
that the mission had to stop altogether and ended on November 4, after Saudi Arabia
informed U Thant that it would no longer contribute funds. U Thant then sent a special
representative, Signor Pier Spinelli, to Sanaa.
In October the United States supported negotiations for the republicans and royal-
ists to govern together. However, nothing came of the discussion. Fighting continued
in North Yemen until 1970, when Saudi Arabia sought to normalize relations with
North Yemen so it could focus on Marxist South Yemen. The two came to an agree-
ment in May 1970 whereby the North Yemeni government would incorporate royal-
ists. Two months later Saudi Arabia extended diplomatic recognition to North Yemen.
Coding changes: Dropped from the dispute: 2 United States of America. Start Date
changed from October 1, 1962.