In
1970, Sultan Said's Government had come to be regarded as the most reactionary
and isolationist in the area. Slavery was common and many medieval prohibitions
were still in force. In 1964 a rebellion broke out in the Dhofar province
and on 23rd July 1970 the Sultan was deposed by his son Qaboos bin Said
at the Royal Palace in Salalah. Qaboos, the new Sultan, was 29 years old
and had trained at Sandhurst. The new Sultan asked the rebels for their
cooperation in developing the country using the petroleum revenues formerly
used exclusively for defence. Only the Dhofar Liberation Front responded
favourably. The Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian
Gulf and its ally the National Democratic Front for the Liberation of the
Occupied Arab Gulf appeared to think that little had changed.
In
August 1970, Muscat ceased to be part of the title of the country and it
became the Sultanate of Oman. The war in Oman was a war kept secret from
the public. Britain had no 'official' involvement but SAS detachments under
the designation BATT or British Army Training Team
were sent to Oman in July 1970, directly after Sultan Qaboos had deposed
his father in a coup. As well as supporting the new regime in military
matters, the BATT teams also engaged in a 'Hearts
and Minds' campaign to establish support for the new Sultan amongst
his people.
© 2002 James Paul &
Martin Spirit. All rights reserved.
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