Editing Aden (section)

==== Federation of South Arabia and the Aden Emergency ====
[[File:Aden,in 1864.png|thumb|A photograph of the harbour of Aden, photographed in 1864.]]
[[File:Aden- 1967 (8193118276).jpg|thumb|Joint Headquarters of Aden's military. Steamer Point ([[Tawahi (Aden)|Tawahi]]), Aden, 1967]]
{{main|Federation of South Arabia|Aden Emergency}}

In order to stabilise Aden and the surrounding Aden Protectorate from the designs of the Egyptian backed republicans of [[Yemen Arab Republic|North Yemen]], the British attempted gradually to unite the disparate states of the region in preparation for eventual independence. On 18 January 1963, the Colony of Aden was incorporated into the [[Federation of Arab Emirates of the South]] against the wishes of North Yemen. The city became the [[State of Aden]] and the Federation was renamed the [[Federation of South Arabia]] (FSA).

An insurgency against British administration known as the [[Aden Emergency]] began with a grenade attack by the communist [[National Liberation Front (Yemen)|National Liberation Front]] (NLF), against the British High Commissioner on 10 December 1963, killing one person and injuring fifty, and a "state of emergency" was declared.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Rob |date=2016-03-28 |title=Out of Arabia: British Strategy and the Fate of Local Forces in Aden, South Yemen, and Oman, 1967–76 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2016.1152994 |journal=The International History Review |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=143–164 |doi=10.1080/07075332.2016.1152994 |issn=0707-5332}}</ref>

In 1964, Britain announced its intention to grant independence to the FSA in 1968, but that British troops would remain in Aden. The security situation deteriorated as NLF and FLOSY ([[Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen]]) vied for the upper hand.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Walker |first=Jonathan |title=Aden Insurgency: The Savage War in Yeman 1962-67 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |isbn=978-1473827639 |publication-date=Feb 9, 2015 |language=English}}</ref>

In January 1967, there were mass riots between the NLF and their rival FLOSY supporters in the old Arab quarter of Aden town. This conflict continued until mid February, despite the intervention of British troops. On 20 June 1967, 23 British Army soldiers were ambushed and shot dead by members of Aden Police during the Aden Mutiny in the Crater District. During the period there were as many attacks on the British troops by both sides as against each other culminating in the destruction of an [[Aden Airways]] [[Douglas DC-3|DC3]] plane in the air with no survivors.<ref>{{cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident Douglas R4D-1 (DC-3) VR-AAN Wadi Rabtah |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19661122-0 |website=aviation-safety.net |access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>

The increased violence was a determining factor in the British ensuring all families were evacuated more quickly than initially intended, as recorded in ''From Barren Rocks to Living Stones''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8026228-from-barren-rocks-to-living-stones | title=From Barren Rocks...to Living Stones | access-date=30 January 2022 | archive-date=30 January 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130142421/https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8026228-from-barren-rocks-to-living-stones | url-status=live }}</ref>

On 30 November 1967, British troops were evacuated, leaving Aden and the rest of the FSA under NLF control. The [[Royal Marines]], who had been the first British troops to arrive in Aden in 1839, were the last to leave – with the exception of a [[Royal Engineers|Royal Engineer]] detachment ([[10th Field Squadron (United Kingdom)|10 Airfields Squadron]] left Aden on 13 December 1967). As part of a larger [[Royal Navy]] [[task force]], {{HMS|Albion}}'s helicopters lifted off remaining Royal Marine commandos left to secure the airfield.<ref>Brian Lapping, "End of Empire," 308, 310.</ref>