In the summer of 1994, Yemen experienced full-scale warfare across its territory, although the fighting on eastern fronts was limited. Military aircraft, short- and medium-range missiles, tanks, and other heavy artillery were all employed in the fighting. Populations, north and south, were mobilized against each other, as politicians spread propaganda about the opposing side. Religious rhetoric in the north portrayed the war as a jihad against infidel socialists. General estimates of those killed ranged between five thousand and seven thousand, including soldiers and civilians. Financial estimates of the war’s costs ran anywhere from U.S. $2 billion to $8 billion.

Aden faced the worst aspects of the war. The northern military laid siege to the city for more than a month, cutting off water supplies and food provisions to a population of nearly one million in sweltering summer heat. Other areas of the south did not experience the same hardships. Large parts of Lahij and Abyan were overrun during the war’s early phase in May 1994. Hadramaut held out until the end. But unlike Aden, the cities of Hadramaut fell without a real fight. Thus they did not experience the same loss of life. As many as one thousand people died in Aden, especially during the last three weeks of war when many civilians were killed by northern artillery barrages. Residents of Crater district later recalled burying dozens of corpses each morning in late June and early July. The numbers killed in outer districts, like Shaykh Othman and Khormaksar, were higher.