Английская Википедия:Ajlun offensive
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Infobox military conflict
The Ajlun offensive, also known as the Battle of the Scrubland,Шаблон:Sfn was a major military engagement between Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organization during the Black September conflict in 1971. Jordanian troops encircled thousands of Palestinian fedayeen and forced them to evacuate from the area.
Background
Шаблон:Main In September 1970, heavy fighting erupted between Jordanian forces and the Palestinian fedayeen. At the urging of other Arab heads of state, Jordanian king Hussein bin Talal and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed a ceasefire agreement in Cairo, Egypt, on 27 September 1970. The agreement called for the rapid withdrawal of Palestinian guerrilla forces from all Jordanian cities and towns, and their relocation to positions "appropriate" for continuing the battle with Israel. It also called for the release of prisoners held by both sides.[1] Most of PLO leadership decided that staying in Jordan was no longer a option, and decided to disperse the movement to other countries. A number of PLO commanders, most prominently Abu Ali Iyad, disagreed and instead decided to relocate to the rough countryside in northwestern Jordan to keep fighting.Шаблон:Sfn
From December 1970, the Royal Jordanian Army began a "creeping offensive" to push the fedayeen out of their positions north and west of Amman as well as cut off their foreign supply.Шаблон:Sfn As the PLO's military position detoriated, Arafat fled into exile in Syria to rebuild his forces. Meanwhile, the Jordanian prepared to destroy the last PLO holdouts in Jordan.Шаблон:Sfn In April 1971, Jordanian Prime Minister Wasfi Tal ordered the PLO to relocate all its bases from Amman to the forests between Ajloun and Jerash.Шаблон:Sfn The fedayeen initially intended to resist the order, but they were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned.Шаблон:Sfn
Jordanian offensive
On 12 July 1971, the Jordanian government ordered the trapped Palestinian fedayeen to evacuate Tal al-Aqra, the strategic mountain at the heart of the Ajlun stronghold.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The local PLO field command, including Abu Ali Iyad, rejected the demand.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Journalist and researcher Patrick Seale argued that the decision to resist at Ajlun was a "suicide mission", as the fedayeen had no capabilities to resist the Jordanian armored forces on open terrain.Шаблон:Sfn
On the morning of 13 July, the Jordanian Armed Forces initiated a large-scale offensive against the 2,500 militants of the Ajlun stronghold with intensive artillery bombardment, reinforced by aerial attacks.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The Jordanians then began to advance on fedayeen positions from three sides, using an infantry division, a tank brigade, two commando battalions and 10,000 militiamen of the "Popular Army".Шаблон:Sfn In addition, three more Jordanian battalions attacked the about 500 PLO fighters still based in the Jordan Valley.Шаблон:Sfn The following fighting was brutal, and Jordanian troops often gave no quarter; PLO militants later reported that Jordanian tanks simply drove over wounded fedayeen.Шаблон:Sfn
By 14 July, the Jordanians held most of the battlefield.Шаблон:Sfn On the morning of 16 July, the Jordanian military announced that it had taken control of the whole area after the killing of about 200-250 fedayeen fighters,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn suffering about 150-200 losses.Шаблон:Sfn About 500 fedayeen managed to withdraw from the area and reach neighbouring Syria.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The Jordanians captured about 2,300 fedayeen.Шаблон:Sfn About 100-200 PLO militants preferred to cross the Jordan River to surrender to Israeli forces rather than to the Jordanians.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn As his forces were overrun, Abu Ali Iyad sent a man with a letter out of the Ajlun pocket to the PLO leadership; in the message, he bitterly condemned his superiors for abandoning the fight and declared that "we will die on our feet rather than kneel".Шаблон:Sfn
Mopping-up operations continued for two days, as the Jordanians hunted for PLO stragglers. Meanwhile, the militants executed a number of Jordanian officers who had defected to them in September 1970.Шаблон:Sfn On 23 July, Abu Ali Iyad was reportedly killed around Ajlun. His corpse was never found.Шаблон:Sfn
Aftermath
Following the destruction of the Ajlun holdout, King Hussein subsequently declared in a press conference that Jordanian sovereignty had been completely restored.Шаблон:Sfn The remnants of Abu Ali Iyad's force continued to hold him in high regard and vowed to avenge him; one of them murdered Wasfi Tal in November 1971.Шаблон:Sfn
Most international allies of the PLO barely reacted to the operation.Шаблон:Sfn However, China condemned the Ajlun offensive and responded by sending a shipment of tanks and other weapons to strengthen the PLO forces in Lebanon and Syria.Шаблон:Sfn
References
Works cited
- Шаблон:Cite book
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- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
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- Шаблон:Cite book
