Liberation Day in Yemen commemorates the start of the armed struggle against British colonial rule in South Yemen in 1963, leading to full independence in 1967.

When is Liberation Day?

Liberation Day is observed annually on October 14.

The following is the list of Liberation Day from 2020 to 2049.

The History of Liberation Day?

From the early 19th century, Britain began occupying parts of southern Yemen, starting with the port city of Aden in 1839.

By the 1930s, the British had consolidated control over the region as the Aden Colony and various protectorates known collectively as the Federation of South Arabia. Aden became a strategic hub for British naval and commercial interests.

By the 1950s and early 1960s, Arab nationalism was spreading throughout the Middle East, inspired by leaders like Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt.

In South Yemen, multiple resistance groups emerged to challenge British rule, including the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) and the National Liberation Front (NLF).

These groups were committed to ending colonial occupation and gaining full sovereignty for the southern regions of Yemen.

On October 14, 1963, a nationalist rebel launched a grenade attack on a British target in the Radfan mountains near Aden, sparking an armed rebellion. This marked the start of the South Yemeni Revolution, leading to years of intense guerrilla warfare and urban resistance.

After four years of conflict, the British withdrew from South Yemen under pressure from sustained insurgency and changing geopolitical dynamics. On November 30, 1967, the People's Republic of South Yemen was declared in Aden, ending 128 years of British rule.

In 1970, the state was renamed the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY), adopting a Marxist-Leninist government.