Bakhriyan Civil War
| Bakhriyan Civil War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Clockwise, from top left: Dayashinese Special Air Service soldier and Artaimis mercenary stand guard outside of Bahra, Bakhriyan Army tank operates in dense urban combat, Bantu Liberation Front 1st Division troops assaulting a village compound, Eukrasi vehicles of the 2nd Combined Arms battalion of the 5th Division at a staging areas, AN Airmobile Regiments arriving on the ground in Bakhriya, Shijukunese Air Force Mitsuna F-80 Eagles during a night-time airstrike on Bahra | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
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Bakhriya
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United Liberation Front
Coalition Supported by: | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Halder Van Kroezen |
Gamsolufechi Agu (De-facto BLF leader) Shuya Hachiya (commanding officer of 25 DSAS) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
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Bakhriyan Armed Forces: 380,000 active, 100,000 reserve, 1,200 tanks, 2,200 APCs and IFVs, 180 combat aircraft |
Bantu Liberation Front: 180,000 (120,000 BLF Bangana, 60,000 BLF Mbuye) | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
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Bakhriyan forces: 33,092 killed, 70,698 wounded |
Bantu Liberation Front: over 21,000 killed, over 35,000 wounded | ||||||
The Bakhriyan Civil War was a war occurring in 2019 and 2020, resulting from a decades-long buildup in ethnic tensions. Originally, the conflict involved the Bakhriyan government fighting against the Bantu Liberation Front. As tensions devolved, the Bantu Liberation Front grew in number and very quickly established a hold over territory dense with ethnic Bantus. As the BLF gained strength quickly in the early stages of the conflict, Berber nationalists in the north of Bakhriya declared the formation of the Chantrist Liberation Army, opening up another front of rebellion in the conflict. The Bakhriyan Army, after about two weeks of disarray, eventually reorganised within conflict territories and was able to make major strides into rebel-held territories in a series of offensives undertaken with the support of the Bakhriyan Air Force. Quickly finding themselves on the back foot, the Bantu Liberation Front and Chantrist Liberation Army sought to vie for support from states bordering Bakhriya, Shijuku and Eukras.
After a series of diplomatic meetings and talks with rebel envoys, the governments of Shijuku and Eukras formed a coalition, which would lead, combined, nearly 100,000 troops into the conflict zone. In a coordinated initial decapitation campaign, the Shijukunese and Eukrasi air forces and navies struck disastrous blows on the Bakhriyan Armed Forces, completely incapacitating the Bakhriyan Navy and promptly establishing air superiority over the conflict. Although the Shijukunese and Eukrasi decapitation campaign was widely effective, the Bakhriyan air defence network around their capital was successful in fending off a series of strikes on key government positions in Bahra. Following the decapitation campaign, the Shijukunese and Eukrasi Armies would mobilise into Bakhriya, in support of the BLF and the CLA respectively.
Insisting in the enforcement of the Meridian Doctrine, and the sanctity of the Bakhriyan state, the Allied Nations eventually deployed an expeditionary fleet and air attachment including approximately 25,000 airmobile troops to reinforce the Bakhriyan Armed Forces. The deployment garnered high levels of international scrutiny, particularly in relation to criticism of the Meridian Doctrine. In response, multiple unaligned parties such as Chantli declared their diplomatic support for the United Liberation Front and the Coalition, while Entente Cordiale members remained largely indifferent to the Maracaiban response in the conflict. The deployment proved to be effective in slowing the Coalition advance, with Shijukunese elements being forced to find ways to work around the Maracaiban forces to avoid international incidents. Despite this, several direct engagements between Shijukunese forces and Maracaiban forces on the ground and air were reported and mutually confirmed, the most significant of which, nearing the end of the conflict, resulted in 21 Shijukunese casualties and 52 Maracaiban casualties. The Maracaiban personnel, with their experience in counter-insurgency war, proved highly effective in slowing the Bantu Liberation Front advance, often completely stalling it when unsupported by Coalition elements.
The war drew a massive level of international attention, outside of the participating parties. Ships of the Dayashinese, Hallian, and Sieuxerran navies drifted around the conflict zone as a deterrent between the Shijukunese and Eukrasi navies, who were reasonably suspected to be planning attacks on the Allied Nations of Maracaibo's expeditionary fleet. Chantli, having declared its diplomatic support for the ULF and Coalition, transported hundreds of non-combat medical personnel to the conflict zone, who would serve to provide extra medical attention to Shijukunese and Bantu forces up to the highest pressure of situations. Prime Minister Daichi Noru of Dayashina condemned the grounds of the Maracaiban response to the conflict, and declared that Dayashina would support its ally in Shijuku. The Hallian Commonwealth reportedly considered an amphibious peacekeeping deployment into Qartoum in order to put a stop to ethnic violence. The Entente Cordiale made no statement on the conflict as it was ongoing, but insisted on a number of changes to the Meridian Doctrine after the conflict ended at the behest of Prime Minister Noru.
It was later de-classified, by the Republic of Dayashina Defence Forces themselves, that the Dayashinese Special Air Service, in the form the 25th Regiment, was involved in frontline operations in assistance to the Shijukunese Army and the Bantu Liberation Front. Despite the formal de-classification, the involvement of Dayashinese forces was already suspected, as images leaked on the internet of individuals who appeared to be in Dayashinese uniforms, carrying Dayashinese armaments. It was reported that the Dayashinese Special Air Service was highly involved in training the Bantu Liberation Front's 1st Division, which proved to be highly effective in combating both Bakhriyan and Maracaiban forces across all counts. Furthermore, it was revealed that the DSAS was was instrumental in the protection of Gamsolufechi Agu in the very early days of the conflict, fending off attacks on Agu's gubernatorial compound by the Bakhriyan Army for over a week before BLF reinforcement and relief. DSAS was also reported to be present in several frontline engagements with the Bakhriyan and Maracaiban forces, being utilised by the Shijukunese Army to break a number of difficult chokepoints and stalled areas on the front. The deployment drew large scrutiny from the Dayashinese Liberal Party as well as significant elements of Maracaiban politics.
After the conflict, a massive humanitarian relief campaign was launched across a divided Bakhriya. Shijuku leads the effort to relieve Bangana, with significant Dayashinese support. Eukras leads the effort to relieve Inumiden, with significant Hallian support. Maracaibo leads the effort to relieve territory still under the Bakhriyan government.