News - Yemen: In a statement to Al-Masirah, Shabwa Governor Major General Awad Mohammed bin Fareed Al-Olqi emphasized that the historic 14 October Revolution secured three major national achievements: expelling the British colonialists from southern Yemen, unifying more than 23 sheikhdoms, sultanates, and emirates into a single state, and contributing to the realization of the blessed Yemeni unity.

Governor Al-Olqi asserted that these accomplishments represent invaluable historical gains that no political entity or individual has the right to abandon, as they were earned through the sacrifices of Yemeni freedom fighters striving for independence.

He criticized those who claim to uphold the legacy of the 14 October Revolution while acting as “tools and traitors” under foreign influence, highlighting that if the revolution’s veterans could return, they would hold such collaborators historically accountable. Al-Olqi condemned the ongoing Saudi-Emirati occupation in southern provinces, islands, ports, and Yemeni airspace, describing it as a continuation of colonial practices reminiscent of British rule.

The governor also denounced the exploitation and mismanagement of national resources under the occupation, calling the plundering of the southern provinces’ wealth “regrettable and shameful,” and underscoring the resilience of the Yemeni people in defending their sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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.