Satero-Denzali border conflict
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| Satero-Denzali border conflict | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Hamburger Fence dispute | |||||||
 Commander of the Kolkesburg Brotherhood, Henri Morozov, stands next to one of his men amidst the Battle of Thres | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Brotherhood of Kolkesburg |
 Denzal | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Andre Puoc (alleged) | denzal commander | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
100-1,200 | denzal troops | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 100-350 | denzal casualties | ||||||
The Satero-Denzali border conflict, also known as the Hamburger Fence War or the Satero-Denzali clashes, as well as the Week-long War or the July War locally, was a week-long border conflict between Denzali defense forces and elements of the Saterocian Army alongside an affiliated militia organization known as the Brotherhood of Kolkesburg.
The conflict occurred in a region formerly disputed by both countries known as the Hamburger Fence in Denzal and Saroq Delouse in Sateroc. Although the region was administered and occupied by Denzal, Sateroc came to claim it after the rise of Arnaud Puoc and his successors in the Saterocian government and military, claiming it was once part of the many Saterocian kingdoms that came before the country's eventual unification and therefore rightfully Saterocian. This was amidst the highest point of tensions in the Vasilin Sea crisis, with Sateroc having essentially turned into an international pariah due to constant human rights abuses and the continuous violation of international law. Andre Puoc and the Saterocian government alleged that Denzali forces had expelled ethnic Saterocians from the region, which led to a standoff between Saterocian and Denzali troops at the border that eventually turned into large clashes after an incident on 10 July, 1993.
Clashes resumed for two days with both sides receiving dozens of casualties and even a few fatalities as the clashes continued to increase in violence. The Saterocian government had already cut ties with Denzal in 1989, therefore there was no open communication channel for either of the countries to reach out to in order to resolve the fighting. Then, on 12 July, the Brotherhood of Kolkesburg, a far-right extremist group de facto part of the Saterocian military at the time, launched a large incursion into the disputed region involving thousands of troops. As they reached Thres and began to bombard the city, elements of the Saterocian Air Force had provided heavy air support to the group, however Saterocian officials denied this and continue to do so up to this day. Amidst this, several neighboring countries would hastily act as neutral powers in order to negotiate a ceasefire before the conflict escalated. The Battle of Thres, which would be the only major engagement of the conflict, would see the use of not only thousands of troops, however as well as tanks, armored vehicles, and aircraft, while the Kolkesburg Brotherhood was accused of committing atrocities against the civilian populace.
A ceasefire was negotiated on 17 July just five days after the initial incursion into the region following an oral statement by both sides, stating that a ceasefire had been successfully reached. Saterocian forces would withdraw from the devastated town, claiming that they had only lost less than 50 troops, while official estimates showed losses numbering from 100 up to 350. The Denzali government would officially state that -- men had been lost, however Kolkesburg refuted this claims, claiming that they had lost up to 700 men in just five days, with the Kolkesburg Brotherhood claiming a thousand men dead on their side. Official estimates by the CCA stated that at least 316 soldiers and civilians were killed in total, with many more unaccounted for.
Despite the ceasefire, clashes between Saterocian and Denzali forces continued near the disputed region for years later, with both sides accusing the other of violating the agreement. Dozens of soldiers would die in ensuing clashes, which culminated in the 1996 Thres airstrike, a carefully planned aerial operation by the Saterocian Air Force on Thres just three years later. The dispute was mostly resolved in 2019 after the 2019 Saterocian revolution in which the new Saterocian government under President Jonrov Mornes gave up the claims on the area.