Mirbat from the Adoo point of view
Translation from “Warda”
23rd July 1972
A wide scale attack on Merbat.
100 fighters led by Fahd started the attack at 5.30a.m.
24th July 1972
Our forces kept Merbat for 14 hours
25th July 1972
We lost 70 fighters in Merbat’s disaster. I listened to the statements of the survivors.
A group of 20 fighters approached the fence, which surrounds the town from three sides. There were groups which consist of 10-12 men behind them in the plain. They ran in an equal line away from each other. Their weapons were on their shoulders. They were faced with fire coming from the house of the English commander. Our men reached the fence and started tearing it. Some did that using their bear hands. Others threw a blanket over the fence and jumped over it.
Dannat 7.62 millimetre (speed of more than 2000 feet per second) threw some of them away from the fence. Others were stuck in the fence and were dangling like toys. Fahd shouted at the survivors and urged them to cross the fence. They were faced with new fire. Some managed to cross the fence and ran towards the fort 40 yards away from the fence while others were stuck in the fence. A fighter was stuck in the fence like a toy made of cloth. Another fighter looked like a crucified man on that fence because his limbs were stretched. Two others crossed the fence, but they fell down immediately and one of them had his leg stuck in the fence.
Two comrades barged in to silence the cannon. After 100 yards there was fire, then they took to the ground. One of them attacked the cannon’s hole and jumped over its wall. The others ran towards the fort whilst throwing grenades.
Then the planes came.
Waleed and his assistants worked day and night to treat the injured.
27th July 1972
One fighter lost his legs as a result of a bomb. He told me how his comrade M***** was martyred. He withdrew towards the beach as per the orders. Groups of English soldiers followed him. He was in the water up to his waist. They told him to drop his weapon and surrender. He turned round and shot at them, then they killed him.
The collaborators’ forces distributed a publication with the picture of the seized weapons. The publication stated: “The communist commanders expected an easy victory in the latest Merbat battle. As a matter of fact, the communists suffered a big defeat. The communists fled after leaving in the hands of the victorious SAF forces 29 killed fighters and 12 prisoners in addition to a huge amount of weapons.”
Some prisoners were taken to Salalah, where they were beaten up and insulted by the English officers in front of the public
