News - Yemen: The governors of Mahra and Shabwah on Monday described the 14 October revolution as a pivotal chapter in Yemen’s struggle for liberation, saying it embodied the popular will to reject all forms of tutelage and occupation.

Governor of Mahra, Al-Qahtabi Al-Faraji, said the 14 October uprising is a landmark in Yemen’s modern history that liberated South Yemen from more than a century of British rule after the revolt ignited from the steadfast mountains of Radfan.

He described the revolution as an inevitable movement by a people determined to win freedom by force of arms, expelling the colonial occupier and ending foreign dominance.

“The 14 October revolution is a turning point in the Yemeni revolutionary and liberation struggle — a testament to an undefeatable will that refuses subjugation,” Al-Faraji said, adding that its legacy continues to inspire Yemenis to sacrifice for sovereignty.

Al-Faraji said commemorating the 62nd anniversary demonstrates fidelity to the revolution’s martyrs and veterans by upholding the goals for which they fought until victory was secured. He warned that the fate awaiting today’s new occupiers will mirror that of the British, who could not withstand the resolve of the revolutionaries and their supporters.

He renewed his call for Yemenis to unify against the plans of occupying powers that seek to divide society and plunder the country’s resources.

Shabwah Governor Awad Al-Awlaqi described the 62nd anniversary as a great revolutionary occasion that shattered British hopes of securing a foothold on the Arabian Sea and ended attempts to control a strategically vital regional port. 

He said the 14 October uprising crowned the struggles of Yemenis who rejected occupation and subservience, expelling British colonial rule after nearly 129 years and dispelling the myth of an empire that “the sun never sets on.” 

He recalled that the united efforts of the 26 September and 14 October movements culminated in the declaration of independence on 30 November 1967.

Al-Awlaqi also denounced what he called the current Saudi and UAE occupation, accusing their forces and local collaborators of systematic starvation and looting of southern resources. He urged all patriots to continue armed resistance to expel the occupiers, invoking Allah and the enduring values of the 14 October revolution as the inspiration for reclaiming freedom, independence and full sovereignty from the new occupiers.

The 14 October Revolution erupted in 1963 from the rugged mountains of Radfan in southern Yemen, marking the beginning of a nationwide armed struggle against British colonial occupation that had controlled the port of Aden and surrounding areas since the 19th century. After four years of sustained resistance, the revolution achieved victory with the British withdrawal and the declaration of independence on 30 November 1967, establishing the People’s Republic of South Yemen.

Today, amid continued foreign military presence led by the Saudi and Emirati forces and their local proxies, Yemeni leaders and analysts often draw parallels between the anti-colonial struggle of the 1960s and the current national confrontation against what they describe as a new form of occupation targeting Yemen’s sovereignty and natural wealth.