Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman (in Arabic: الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير عُمان - al-Jabha al-Sha'abiya li-Tahrīr 'Uman, PFLO) was a Marxist and Arab nationalist revolutionary organisation in the Sultanate of Oman. It fought against the Sultan (ruler) in the Dhofar Rebellion from the PFLO's foundation until the suppression of the insurgency in 1976.

Background

The main forerunner of the PFLO was the Dhofar Liberation Front (جبهة تحرير ظفار - Jabhat Tahrir Dhofar, DLF) which was based in Dhofar, the southern province of Oman. It was founded in 1962 by the Dhofar Benevolent Society (DBS), the Dhofar Soldiers’ Organisation (DSO) and the local branch of the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM) and began armed struggle in June 1965.

Formation of the Popular Front

In September 1968 the DLF was renamed the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf (al-Jabha al-Sha'abiya li-Tahrir al-Khalij al-'Arabi al-Muhtall, PFLOAG). Its members were inclined towards the leftist, Marxist-Leninist tendency in the ANM, and were also influenced by the revolutionary experience of neighbouring South Yemen.