Itching Toward Independence

After 128 years of rule, Britain can hardly wait to get out of troubled South Arabia and leave its recalcitrant Arabs to run--or ruin--their own affairs. It set an independence date for early next year, but has been itching to move it up--if only it could find a working government to which it could turn over power. Anti-British terrorism in South Arabia has already taken the lives of 56 British soldiers, and some 300 Arabs have died as a result of a feud between two opposing terrorist groups. East week, fed up with it all, Britain announced that it will grant South Arabia independence by the end of November whether or not there is a government there to receive it.

As it happened, a somewhat shaky form of government quickly came into being. Meeting in Cairo under the auspices of Gamal Abdel Nasser, the two terrorist groups--the National Liberation Front (N.L.F.) and the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY)--had been unable to agree for weeks on forming a new government. But when they got wind of Britain's new intentions, they hastily got together. Neither group would say much about the new government, but N.L.F. men, including Leader Qahtan al Shaabi, are almost certain to end up in key positions. Reason: the N.L.F. not only has taken control--more or less--of all 17 of South Arabia's sheikdoms and three of the states of neighboring Aden, but commands a majority within South Arabia's 9,000-man army.

At week's end bitter fighting broke out again in South Arabia between members of the two groups. At least 17 persons were killed, 400 injured and more than 20 others kidnaped, including two federal policemen. The N.L.F. accused FLOSY of starting it all and swore "vengeance in full," but in Cairo leaders of the rival group pleaded with their followers to "halt the bloodshed and unite."

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