Mariranan Civil War

Mariranan insurgency (1976–present)
File:Mariranan insurgency map.png
Date 26 May 1975-present (49 years and 1 month) Location Marirana Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Mariranan government Military Forces Template:Country data Federation of Asteria Supported by: Template:Country data Roeselle	Paramilitaries and cartels (Right-wing) CVC EdD Ospeletto Cartel AAA	Guerrillas (Left-wing) 26 May Movement Red Army FDLPI
Commanders and leaders
Mariranan government: Giorgio Macciocchi Previous leaders: Vincenzo Rustichelli Oliviero Michelozzi Romano Michelozzi Stefano Uccello Alfonso Hatoyama Roberto Vernizzi Amintore Salvadori	TBA	TBA
Strength
TBA	TBA	TBA
Casualties and losses
TBA	TBA	TBA
Total casualties: TBA
(De): Demobilized (Dis): Dismantled

The Mariranan Civil War is an ongoing asymmetric war in Marirana between the government, right-wing paramilitaries, drug cartels, left-wing guerrillas and ethnic separatists. It is the most deadly war in Mariranan history.

The insurgency begun in 1975 due to escalating leftist action against the right-wing military dictatorship of Vincenzo Rustichelli, with the murder of Bishop Giuliano Tabacci being the trigger for the armed insurgency. The escalation of violence led the Rustichelli government to merge right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartels to better combat leftist groups. Following the fall of the regime in 1987 the new democratic government attempted to crack down on the insurgents and drug cartels, which escalated the violence into a full blown civil war between 1992-1995 until the government of Romano Michelozzi allowed JDF troops to enter the country to put down the insurgency. During the 2000's although violence continued it was for the most part a low intensity conflict, barring the assassination of president Stefano Uccello. However a massive economic recession in 2016 led to a re-escalation of the conflict.

History

Beginnings (1976-1980)

• Left-wing protests develop in civil war.
• Three-way conflict - left wing groups, government/rightists and cartels.

Escalation (1980-1995)

• Government merges rightists and cartels.
• Dictatorship falls- conflict gets worse
• Basically civil war 1993-5

Federation Intervention (1995-2000)

• Michelozzi gets fed in
• Surprisingly effective

Low intensity (2000-2016)

• Still there but easy to ignore
• Until president assassinated
• But still basically low intensity

Escalation (2016-present)

• Recession - 50% now in poverty
• This starts civil war

Factions

Right-wing groups

• Catholic Volunteer Corps (Corpo Volontario Cattolico) - A right-wing paramilitary, the CVC was formed in 1980 by neofascists and former military officers inspired by the Integrated Union of the Traditionalist Right. Although it cooperated with drug cartels, it on the whole remained primarily an anti-leftist group that received strong backing from the government. It has been accused of being backed by the government and using right-wing death squads to murder leftist leaders, trade unionists and other prominent social justice figures.
• Ospeletto Cartel (Cartello di Ospeletto) - The Ospeletto Cartel is one of the largest cocaine cartels in the world and the richest insurgent group in Marirana. The Ospeletto Cartel predates the insurgency, being formed in 1972 by drug kingpin Matteo Scalfaro. Scalfaro was the earliest drug baron to create a smuggling route for cocaine into the Asteria, leading to the Asterian government to pressure the Mariranan government to crack down on the group. The Mariranan government encouraged the right-wing paramilitaries to cooperate with the cartel until 1984 when it gave in to Asterian pressure to crack down on the group. Despite Scalfaro been killed in 1998 by Federation forces, the Ospeletto Cartel has continued to operate, and has effectively run a "parallel government" in the province of Umbertide.
• Asterian Anticommunist Alliance (Alleanza Anticomunista Astericana) - The Asterian Anticommunist Alliance was formed in 1982 by the Rustichelli government, being a merger between the Romerio Cartel and several smaller right-wing paramilitaries. Since then, the Asterian Anticommunist Alliance has created a rival drug apparatus to the Ospeletto Cartel and the Red Army centred in the Catacosi province, with its right-wing character being eroded over time to a more concretely drug cartel one. During the early 1990's the AAA became the largest producer of cannabis in Asteria Superior. However, a series of successful drug raids in the late 1990's and early 2000's has dimished their influence, although they remain a large drug cartel.
• Army of God (Esercito di Dio) - The Army of God is an evangelical group that was formed by a merger of drug cartels and right-wing death squads. The fall of the military regime in 1986 saw the group purge the drug cartels from its ranks and reassert itself as a right-wing anti-cartel, anti-leftist group. The Army of God has gained notoriety for human and arms trafficking as well as using beheadings, crucifixion, torture and indiscriminate slaughters.

Left-wing groups

• 26 May Movement (Movimento 26 Maggio) - The first leftist movement formed, the M26M was founded to protest the Rustichelli regime's anti-worker and neoliberal reforms. It expanded to become the biggest left-wing group in Marirana based on the ideal of revolutionary socialism and is active in the San Marco province - however the rise of the Red Army has undermined the M26M. Its name alludes to the revolution in 1818 that overthrew the first Mariranan monarchy.
• Democratic Front for the Liberation of Indigenous Peoples (Fronte Democratico per la Liberazione dei Popoli Indigeni) - Originally formed in 1978 to protect the rights of native peoples, the FDLPI has since evolved to support the independence of a native state in the Mederio, Ritaldi, Umbertide and Catacosi provinces. The FDLPI support a form of democratic confederalism creating large communal societies in northern Marirana and has been implicated in running a large drug network in the Mederio province.
• Red Army (Armata Rossa Marirano) - Originally a more extreme offshot of the M26M, the Red Army follow the principle of the vanguard party and has subsequently created the most organised left-wing movement in Marirana that is primarily financed by drug trafficking. As of 2016 it is the largest, richest and most organised insurgent group in Marirana.