Geography of Oman around the Al Hajar mountains are part of the Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert ecoregion, while the mountains themselves are a distinct habitat. The northernmost area, Musandam, extends from the tip of the Musandam Peninsula to the boundary with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Hisn al Diba. It borders the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from the rest of the sultanate by a strip of territory belonging to the UAE. This area consists of low mountains forming the northernmost extremity of the Al Hajar al Gharbi (Western
National Democratic Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf movement. NDFLOAG was supported by urban intellectuals. Ideologically, PFLOAG was Marxist whilst NDFLOAG was Ba'ath-oriented. When it was publicly launched, NDFLOAG had branches in different towns in Oman and in most of the other parts of the Persian Gulf. NDFLOAG began guerrilla operations in northern Oman on June 12, 1970 attacking garrisons at the towns of Izki and Nizwa with mortars. Both attacks failed. The attack on a SAF army post outside Izki was repelled, and the entire unit was either killed or captured. Afterwards several arrests were made, based on testimonies from prisoners from the Izki raid, and three