Word: imam
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From the mountains of Yemen last week came news of a sharp turn in the fighting that greatly improves the prospects of Egypt's President Gamal Abdel Nasser and dims the hopes of victory for the tenacious royalist tribesmen of Imam Mohamed el Badr. A brisk, twelve-week campaign has put Nasser's troops and tanks in control of most of the country...
...streak of success came none too soon for Egypt's ruler, who has poured vast quantities of men and money behind the republican regime that deposed the Imam in a palace coup two years ago. Since then, it has been touch and go for the 30,000 to 40,000 Egyptian soldiers who managed to cling to the towns and a few main roads. The royalist tribes, led by Imam Badr and princes of the royal family, controlled the mountains of the center and north...
Broken Blocks. The tide began to turn in May, when, under the personal command of the Imam, the royalists surrounded the northern towns of Hajja and Sada. Two Egyptian armored columns raced to the relief of the garrisons, broke through royalist roadblocks, and smashed the lines of the besieging tribesmen. As before, the royalists swiftly retreated to the mountains, fully expecting the Egyptians to remain in their hard-won positions. Instead, Nasser's troops plunged into the hills in hot pursuit, methodically cleaning out each tortuous ravine and occupying each ridge line before moving forward...
...also been making gains on the diplomatic front. At an Arab peace conference last January, he skillfully detached Jordan's King Hussein and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Feisal from the royalist side. Last month Hussein recognized the Yemen republic, and though Prince Feisal still supplies the Imam with money, he apparently has closed his borders to arms traffic...
...recent successes, clear victory for Nasser is highly improbable. In the sere heights of northern Yemen, a man with a gun cannot easily be dislodged. Declared the Imam last week: "Yemen has fought for decades against foreign intruders, and is today stronger than ever. We are ready to fight this war for another ten years...