News - Yemen: The Governor of Aden, Tariq Mustafa Salam, affirmed that the spirit of the glorious 14 October Revolution remains alive among Yemenis, rejecting all forms of guardianship and foreign dependency while upholding the principles of the republic and national unity.

In a statement on the anniversary of the revolution, Governor Salam praised the heroic struggle and sacrifices of the first generation of freedom fighters in the mountains of Radfan and across southern Yemen, whose resistance led to the expulsion of the British colonial forces.

He stressed that the blood of martyrs and the sacrifices of the revolutionaries will continue to guide the Yemeni people in completing the path of liberation. Salam pointed to the dire situation in the southern and eastern provinces, which he said are now suffering under a new form of occupation threatening Yemen’s national identity and unity while entrenching division and conflict.

The governor renewed his pledge to the national leadership to continue, alongside the honorable people of Aden, the struggle to reclaim all occupied Yemeni territories and end every form of occupation and foreign interference. He affirmed that Yemen’s unity and sovereignty will remain “the supreme objective for which every precious sacrifice will be made.”

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.