Birat Civil War

Birat Civil War
A damaged building in Alicent
Date April 27th, 2021 - ongoing Location Birat With spillovers in East Chanchajilla
Belligerents
Government of Birat	Rebel Forces People's Democratic Army of Birat (PDA) Nationalist Defense Forces of Birat (NDF) Communist Liberation Army of Birat (CLA) Southern Territorials of Birat (SOT) Kabulh National Brigade (KNB) International Supporters Timeria Lutharia
Commanders and leaders
Alan Meidan	Alexei Volovic Kuluk Osmani
Casualties and losses
6,000+ killed	13,000+ killed
6,000+ civilians killed

The Birat Civil War is an ongoing multi-sided conflict in Birat, fought between the government forces of President Alan Meidan and the rebel forces of the People's Democratic Army of Birat (PDA), multiple paramilitary factions, and foreign backing by Timeria and Lutharia. The conflict started on April 27th with violent riots in the city of Alicent as demonstrators rallied against Meidan's government. Fighting has been sporadic and has alternated between periods of peace and violence as ceasefires are continuously made and broken.

Background

The history of tensions that soon led to the beginning of the war began in 1980. Birat had gone through major political and economic reforms after recovering from economic collapse, and had legalized several paramilitary forces to bolster its military and defend itself from exterior threats. One of these groups, the Socialist-Unionist Army (SUA) was directly opposed to the democratic government of President Valeran Odos, and repeatedly attempted to use its political branch, the Socialist Party of Birat, to bar legislation and further reform. In 2001, the leader of the SPB, Alan Meidan, began to plot a coup, and enlisted the aid of the Nationalist Unionist Party and formed the Nationalist-Socialist Union, the NSU, and attached the SUA to it.

Several years of preparation followed including the purchase of heavy equipment and recruitment of army officers, and in 2016, Meidan executed his coup, quickly securing the capital and executing the cabinet of President Odos, before executing him publicly. Meidan proceeded to purge the government of all opposing politicians and outspoken governors, and absorbed the paramilitaries of Birat into the Armed Forces. The People's Democratic Army, Kabulh United Front, and the Socialist-Democratic National Militia all refused to be absorbed, and merged together to create a direct opposition in the PDA.

Shortly following these developments, riots and protests against the new oppressive government began in the city of Alicent on April 27th, and after several police buildings were taken over by protestors, Meidan's federal soldiers entered the city and began to siege the rioters at the Administrative Hall in Alicent. They opened fire on any stragglers in the city, with more than 40 people killed in the carnage. The PDA mobilized in the city to intervene and save the civilians in the area, but federal forces fired into the administrative building on May 3rd, killing all 204 people inside including women and children. Clashes ensued between PDA and federal forces in the wake of the massacre, and after a skirmish took place, they were driven out of the city limits. The PDA was then declared an insurgent force by Meidan, and the government began cracking down on their forces.

Conflict

April 27th is generally regarded as the beginning of the civil war, as rioters throughout Alicent began clashing violently with government forces in response to the massacres during crackdowns. On May 10th, clashes escalated as the PDA seized Vagorno Highway (V-15) , and humanitarian aid was approved by the government of Timeria as the first form of foreign intervention in the conflict. May 11th saw several nations in the international community warning of growing intervention in Birat, calling for Lutharia to stop lending Timerian military equipment into staging areas. However, on May 12th, President Aneya Raso of Timeria publicly backed the PDA and sent further contingents of military supplies to Lutharia. A stalemate was instituted as a minor ceasefire, but on May 17th, federal forces and the PDA clashed near the Alicent International Airport as the PDA advanced on several federal positions. Timerian fighter jets began backing the rebels directly, striking federal positions, and the clashes drew international attention with Quetana's President António Brafeo calling Meidan a "tyrant" and calling for him to step down after a Quetana Airways flight was intercepted by Birat jets. Furthermore, federal forces of Birat accidentally strayed into East Chanchajilla on the 17th, resulting in a clash between their forces.

Following those clashes, President Atticus Moreau of Zamastan issued a condemnation of Meidan's government, as well as the PDA and Timeria due to the unannounced use of East Chanchajillan sovereign territory to mobilize the military forces. Albarine's government blocked all travel and diplomatic ties with Birat's government, Elbresia made the first calls for a Coalition of Crown Albatross-mediated ceasefire. On May 18th, President Akram Sulaiman of Emmiria travelled to Tofino to meet with President Moreau and Security Council analyists to try and find mediation for the crisis. In the meantime, the PDA's Alexei Volovic was subject to an attempted assassination by Meidan's forces when they met in Kabulh. Volovic had been invited to the President's compound, where he was shot on arrival. It is still widely unknown as to why Volovic accepted an invitation by Meidan right at the height of the clashes, but nevertheless it resulted in his injury and crippling, with his second-in-command Kuluk Osmani vowing to continue the fight. Timerian forces pledged to stay in Birat until fighting concluded, ramping up their attacks against federal positions and prolonging the conflict, according to the CCA Security Council resolutions.

On May 19th, the Albarinean and Zamastanian delegations to the CCA issued Coalition Security Council Resolution 237, which proposed a temporary ceasefire in Birat. The resolution was passed on the 20th and went into effect, with the conflict largely subsiding as international humanitarian aid began to pour in. All articles were adopted by the Security Council with minimum hesitancy, with the exception of Article 10, which was deemed null in a 5-7 vote, and with Article 4, which was only partially accepted. Article 4b was adopted, while 4a and 4c were not, meaning that Timerian military forces and equipment could remain in Birat. However, due to the passage of Article 3, Timeria was prohibited from conducting military strikes in Birat. Article 10, which would have condemned the government of Lutharia, was completely made null. Upon its adoption, Security Council diplomats began working to determine what international government would host peace talks between the Meidan party and the PDA, with another debate opening about the source of peacekeeping forces. Peacekeepers from Mulfulira and Shoassau, two neutral countries, were proposed to be implemented within the country, but the government of Meidan who signed onto the resolution refused to allow them in.

In response to the ceasefire, Meidan stated;

"The International Community clearly does not wish to see stability within Birat, and clearly does not wish to take any sort of solution that will truly be neutral in nature. Therefore I will only agree to a ceasefire of two weeks to entertain these rebels' fallacies. Peace is achievable, I consider myself a reasonable man, I am willing to sign a treaty with these rebels. But that treaty will not see me deposed and clearly that will not do for the international community, as we have seen. Their anarchic presidents continue to call for my removal even while passing this resolution to solve my little problem in the south. It is not me who needs to be convinced to accept peace, but the international community and their violent rebels they have so graciously raised in my homeland.

As for the rebellion and their demands for so called democracy, we have democracy in this country. It is the rebels that destabilize us and commit heinous crimes, not my administration. Should the international community see reason and help my government quell this rebellion I would be more than willing to let their supporters live. But should the security council allow this farce to go on in any way, I'm afraid its headquarters will have to be moved out of Tofino."

Also on May 20th, Vozhd Matvei Pavlov of the Slavic Union publicly backed Meidan. Despite the ceasefire and humanitarian aid entering the country, with the Emmirian Consultative Assembly passing a sweeping humanitarian bill approved for Birat, there was rampant mockery of the ceasefire within Birat. Infrequent and rare clashes occasionally occurred, and corruption among both federal and rebel officers meant supplies were being diverted from much needed areas. Within Birat, Resolution 237 was being referred to as the "Albatross Frontline", but the peace remained in tact for a month.

On June 28th, however, the ceasefire was broken as federal forces advanced upon Kabulh and started pushing rebel forces back. At least 800 federal troops were killed in the rampant advance, along with more than 1,000 rebel fighters, bringing the total death toll of the conflict to nearly 20,000. That same day, several nations broke away from the Resolution, including its key proponent of Albarine, with Chancellor Sadie Melhaven declaring "President Meidan and the federal forces of Birat have betrayed the confidence and trust of their people and of the world," Melhaven said. "The rebels have done the same. We will continue to hope for a peaceful solution, but we cannot continue to be the leading state in this affair. Birat will have to handle this situation. Other nations stand more of a capability to do so than we do."

East Chanchajilla's government reversed course on its restriction of Timerian involvement, with President Gideon Boer allowing for Timerian military forces to utilize their airspace. Within hours of the policy reversal, Timerian jets resumed bombarding federal positions around Birat. President Atticus Moreau of Zamastan, in an emergency session to Congressional Hall, promised that there would be no military interference of any kind by Zamastan, and ensured that Zamastan would only operate in accordance with future CCA guidelines.

On October 28th, 2021, Birat was annexed by East Chanchajilla.