Salamati Civil War

Salamati Civil War
Tank in a street of Dar Al Hamma, 1994.
Date April 10th, 1993 – January 29th, 1999 (5 years, 9 months, 2 weeks and 5 days) Location Salamat Result Victory of governmental forces Dissolution of the terrorist groups
Belligerents
Salamat Supported by : Gassasinia Khirmania Kakland The Vanna	Islamic Party Armed Islamic Movement (AIM) Armed Islamic Group (AIG) Jama'at Lilda'wat 'Ala Tariq Al Salaf Wal Islam Jama'at Alinqadh Al Islami fi Salamat Majmu'at Al Shuhada Al Islam (dissolved in 1997) Supported by :	Ankur Autodetermination Movement (until July 11, 1997) Supported by : Kakland (Monarchists)
Commanders and leaders
Mohammed Jandubi Malik Khayri  † Amine Benbahlil Abdallah Khalifun Al Massajat Janub Mohamed Al Jumiyin Hafidh Qaddiri Moussa Wahibi Hakim Lamine Khamim	Abdulbaqi Rayraoui Mohammed Si Saleh Abdulrahman Al Hammadi Mohammed Al Mahdi Al Haqqum  † Malik Al Warae Al Salaf Abdelmalek Huqmi  † Michal An Najm Al Wahhab  † Anwar Khuliq Habib Al Muhayni Samir Al Wahhab  †	Khadim Nasser  † Amir Khaymi
Strength
320 000 men 200 000 men (in 1995) 120 000 men in local militias	7 000 men (in 1994) 60 000 men(in 1995) 12 000 men (in 1998)	12 400 men (in 1995)
Casualties and losses
45 000 military deaths, 125 000 civilian deaths, 60 000 refugees	12 000 deaths (estimated)	3 000 deaths

The Salamati Civil War was a conflict opposing the Salamati government, islamist groups and Ankur independentists.

Context

The end of Kharrabi's socialist state

Salamat was an authoritarian state led by Jalil Al Kharrabi, which imposed himself to power on May 16 1977. In the late 80s however, his authority was weakening and the stability of the country dwindling ; the 1987-1991 Salamati famine, the lack of job and housing opportunities, the lack of political freedom, and international embargoes against the country weakened the country's economy (GDP decreased from 47.2 billion in 1985 to 40.7 billion in 1988) and the famine damaged infrastructures and prevented basic services (electricity, water supply, waste management) from functioning properly. At the same time, decreases in the oil barrel's price and cotton price per ton (respectively 25% and 34% of the country's budget in 1986) led the citizens to suffer from inflation, which would impact the country for over 15 years, and from external debts after massive loans granted from Riamo in February, May and October 1986. (The IMF would erase most of Salamat's debt in 1997).

Consequently, Salamatis grew angrier about their government, marked by harshness and political inertia, as well as a provocative behaviour diplomatically which had a negative strain on the Salamatis image, especially those living abroad (eg. Salamati business lootings in Riamo from 1982-1988). Youth unemployment (15% in 1980, 36% in 1985, 60% in 1990) became a fuel for popular protests, which became weekly by the spring of 1990. Kharrabi opened up to the rest of the world the same year, but it wasn't sufficient, as the problems remained and the youth grew more and more radicalized to islamist groups proning "jihad" against the "infidel" government of Salamat and the killing of the "apostate" Jalil Al Kharrabi, who "defiled Islam before the rest of the world".

Kharrabi's demise and following political chaos

The January reforms of Kharrabi were imposed too late and he was deposed 2 weeks after by the Salamati Armed Forces, which also grew disobedient of Kharrabi, and which became the ruling political apparatus from now on. As an effort to appease tensions, political parties were legalized in October 1992 by Mohammed Jandubi, the army-appointed president of Salamat. Jandubi was assisted by Malik Khayri, the army-appointed prime minister (which will become president after the former's resignation) and a group of army officers named "The Group of 5" (Abdellah Zerki, Said Charef, Mohammed Saadi, Larbi Sahibi and Taha Salah), which would take most of the decisions of the government until 1999 and it's disappearance, following most of the officers retirement or death.

However, the decision of legalizing parties just made more visible, with more and more contestations and protests organized every day in the capital, Dar Al Hamma, the biggest organized by islamists on November 13 1992, after the Friday Jumu'ah prayer, with over 80,000 protesters marching, chanting anti-government and anti-army slogans, as well as Quranic verses, and praying in the streets of the capital, before ending their protests at sunset, after a speech from Abdulbaqi Rayraoui's son praying for the Salamati government's destruction and the establishment of a Sharia-ruled state (His father, as well as his associates from the Islamic Party, Mohammed Si Saleh and Abdulrahman Al Hammadi, were imprisoned for agitation and inciting to overthrow the state back in 1991.)

Abdulbaqi Rayraoui's son Ishaq, on November 13 1992.

The Salamati Local Elections were held on December 5 and December 12 1992, and were marked by support for the Islamic Party in a majority of communes, approaching a rate of 70% nationwide. The government, furious, could not let Salamat become an Islamic State, and a letter from Abdellah Zerki to Mohammed Jandubi, written December 15 1992, expressed this sentiment.

The Islamic Party, very happy about it's victory in elections, started applicating its program ; the motto on the People's Communal Assemblies (PCA) were changed to "Islamic city of ..." ; liquor stores were banned ; Hijab was forced upon women ; video stores banned and any opposition or suspicion of humiliation could lead to public humiliation.

Around early January 1993, the Salamati Armed Forces started combing their ranks, removing any potential islamist sympathiser ; by the 20 of the month, the operation was finished, and the most radicalized were court-martialed and executed. An estimated 7 000 soldiers were purged, including 480 which were executed.

The cancelling of elections and escalation of tensions

In a letter wrote by Said Charef to Sahibi and Salah on January 22 1993, Charef demanded "the cancellation of all electoral processes" until further notice, "including the presidential elections scheduled to take place February 13 and February 20 1993 and the legislative elections of May 22-29 1993 ", to avoid the election of the Islamic Party and its legislative dominance, turning Salamat into a "fundamentalist Islamist state".

The cancellation of the elections was announced shortly before the planned 1st round, on February 9, by the president. A lot of protesters, notably islamists, marched in the streets to reject this cancellation. As a result, Jama'at Alinqadh Al Islami fi Salamat, an Islamist armed group, declared jihad on the Salamati government on February 15, followed by numerous groups in the following days and weeks. Journalists, families of soldiers or government members were threatened and the first terrorist attack occurred on March 2 with the Air Thrismari Flight 133 incident, when a Tupolev 154 was disintegrated in a blast while landing at Dar Al Hamma International Airport.