Modern Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies

A more complex and conventional victory: revisiting the Dhofar counterinsurgency, 1963–1975

“…108 A decade prior to the creation of the Hornbeam Line, France succeeded in isolating Algeria's FLN rebels from their sanctuaries in Tunisia and Morocco by building continuous fortified barriers, the Morice and Pedron Lines, across the borders. 109 General Creasy hoped to replicate this accomplishment by developing a solid barrier between the rebel sanctuaries in South Yemen and the main Dhofari population centers in the Center and East of Dhofar. Although the idea of a continuous line dated back to the late 1960s, Anglo -Omani forces had hitherto lacked the resources to create such a barrier.…”

The British counter-insurgency in Cyprus

“…75 Grivas was forced to concentrate EOKA's efforts in the towns. 76 Although EOKA had been defeated in the mountains, it continued operations in the towns where the security forces still struggled.…”

“…32 EOKA killed more Greek Cypriots than British. 33 A typical terrorist attack took place on a bar, The King's Arms, in Limassol that was regularly used by off-duty soldiers and police. On Saturday night when the place was packed, two men,…”

“…89 Darling increased covert patrolling and developed the employment of decoy forces to lure unwary insurgents still operating in the mountains into ambushes. 90 However, no spectacular successes were reported. 91 Nevertheless, the increasing effectiveness of these new tactics eventually encouraged Makarios, EOKA's political leader, to compromise with the British.…”

“…These groups recruited captured terrorists, who defected to or were turned by the security forces, pro-British Turkish Cypriots, British personnel, and criminals recruited from the Greek Cypriot community in Britain to locate EOKA gangs. 93 These Q patrols succeeded in carrying out the infiltration of some EOKA groups, 94 using knowledge both of the areas they operated in and of the personal backgrounds of many of the EOKA town and district leaders that they were hunting down. They could make sense of information that would be meaningless to outsiders.…”