Omani Liberation Army

This file relates to the military situation in Muscat and Oman. It contains correspondence concerning:

• Reports of forces of Omanis at Kalba and Wadi Jizi [Wadi Al Jizi] and the need for the Sultan of Muscat and Oman Saeed Bin Taimur to dispatch forces to investigate this; and the conclusion that Taleb Bin Ali Al Hina'i landed and transported arms and munition inland
• The confirmation that both Taleb Bin Ali and the Imam of Oman Ghalib Bin Ali Al Hina’i are in Oman, having been sent from Saudi Arabia to spark unrest; and their rumoured location in the Jebel Kaur [Jebel Kawr]
• The planning and organisation of RAF reconnaissance of central Oman; a discussion on need for offensive air action from the RAF; and the request for aerial photographs of the Jebel Akhdar with a map of the area included
• The Sultan’s efforts with various tribes such as the Ibriyyin and the Bani Shakail to try and pressure the Bani Hina to capitulate
• Strong opposition following the arrival of the Sultan’s forces at Sait [Bilad Sayt] and Ghumr and the failure of the Oman Regiment (formerly the Muscat and Oman Field Force) to break through the defences
• Hostilities in the area of Izki with the blocking of roads to the Sultan’s convoys; and the discovery that Nasir Bin Ahmad the brother-in-law of Sheikh Sulaiman Bin Himyar Al Nabhani is responsible
• The breakdown of the Sultan’s military forces at Nizwa with subsequent worries over the Sultan’s complete loss of military control in central Oman, after mass desertion in the Oman Regiment following the operation at Bilad Sayt; and the question of how HMG should respond militarily to this incident, as well as how to manage the publicity internationally. It includes the dispatch of HMS Loch Alvie and HMS Fada to the region
• The possible Saudi infiltration of Bainuna and Liwa in Abu Dhabi.