Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen

Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen
Stencil cut from metal sheet with Arabic inscription and F.L.O.S.Y. initials, Imperial War Museum
Active	1964 - November 7, 1967
Country	Federation of South Arabia
Allegiance	South Yemen
Type	Guerrilla
Role	Guerrilla warfare
Garrison/HQ	Mountains and deserts of Yemen
Equipment	Small arms and dynamite
Engagements	Aden Emergency
Commanders
Notable commanders	Abdullah al Asnag
Insignia
Identification symbol	Initials "FLOSY"

The Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY) was a military organization operating in the Federation of South Arabia (now Southern Yemen) in the 1960s. As the British tried to exit its Federation of South Arabia colony Abdullah al Asnag created FLOSY. FLOSY attempted to seize power when the British left from another military group operating in South Arabia, the Marxist National Liberation Front (NLF).

Abdullah al Asnag was a labour leader in the Aden Trade Union Congress (ATUC), a union operating in and around the British protectorate: the port of Aden. In the late 1950s, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser's Pan-Arabism had spread to the region and threatened Britain's and the traditional Emirs of the region's control. In response the British were able to convince the feuding Emirs to merge into the Federation of South Arabia. The Aden Trade Union Congress had a large influence in the new Federation's assembly and to prevent it seizing control of the Federation in 1962 the Colony of Aden joined the Federation so that Aden's pro-British assembly members could counter the ATUC's influence. The day after Aden joined the Federation the Muhammad al-Badr of the Yemenese monarchy was overthrown and civil war ensued between forces backed by Egypt like the National Liberation Front (NLF) and monarchist forces backed by the British. This conflict spread throughout the region becoming the Aden Emergency and officially began on 10 December 1963, when a state of emergency was declared in the State of Aden. The NLF campaign for power spread to the Federation of South Arabia in 1964. In 1964 a new government headed by the Labour Party won the United Kingdom general election. They attempted to grant independence to the Federation of South Arabia by giving Abdullah al Asnag control of the country. This proposal was nixed (? opposed, vetoed ?) by the American President Johnson who didn't want Britain to withdraw while the Americans were escalating the Vietnam War.