Gbaysi Conflict
Gbaysi Conflict | ||||||||
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Part of Asemese Conflict | ||||||||
GDF Fighters near Goûzelouf in 2013 | ||||||||
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Belligerents | ||||||||
Upper Asemese Government Desert Rangers New Generation Front |
Unified Autonomous Liberation Army of Gbaysi
Alpha Team |
Gbaysi Islamist Faction (Since 2008) TaT-GHESH Trans-Maurian Islamist Army al-Tadamun al-Fariq | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
Jean-Évangéliste Belehyi Tito Yahya Moïsy Ahmed ag Haq Hussan Ali Idrissa |
Florentien Kabbah Saidu Mamadou Fagaga Umar Hussain Abu Farouk (2003-2008) Ibrahim Souleyman Djibril Siradji |
Umar Hussain Abu Farouk † Hafez Ibn Ghalib Abu Musab Nurullah Abalak Hassan Mamadou Assodé Sali Moumou |
The Gbaysi Conflict is an ongoing conflict in northern Upper Asema between Government Forces, Secular Nationalist, and Islamist Militants. In the Aftermath of the Nelson Peace Agreement the NCAPDGb was denied acess to government, despite their alliance with Timothé N'zwou and Jean-Évangéliste Belehyi who had come out with important government possitions. On 13 August NCAPDGb and Gbaysi Defense Forces, who had previously fought against one another during the Third Asemese Civil War declared an alliance and within hours attacked numerous Government positions near Amadaga, Tabène, and Zelouf. This Campaign for Greater Autonomy and Independence from the Asemese Government saw early success, taking over much of the Northern Gbaysi Region, including the regions second largest city Boughaoun.
2005 to 2007 saw a series of defeats for the Unified Autonomous Liberation Army of Gbaysi. Unified international involvement from The Duchies, Arcadia, and the Thalassic Federation, along with a renewed Government Army and new Local pro-Government Militias saw ALAUG lose most of its territorial holding, culminationg in the Second Battle of Boughaoun
Islamist Groups, who had previous only played a minor role in the conflict, flourished in the insurgency to follow since 2007. The Gbaysi Islamist Faction (GIF/al-Fasil) would break away from ALAUG in 2008, starting the Nationalist-Islamist Inter-rebel conflict in Gbaysi. Several other groups would follow and either form, or establish cells within the region. The Islamist conflict would reach its heights in 2015 during the Battle of Tchin where thousands of Islamist would infultrate the city and lauch a supprise offensive, holding the city for 158 days. From the retreat of government forces on 2 Februry 2015, until the International Coalition would clear the Islamist last holdout of Koï Square on 4 August 2015.
The conflict has been noted for the influence of organized crime. Transnational drug and Human traffickers have used the conflict and regional militency to maintain control of lucrative routes from Southern Mauria, North towards Erisia. It is alledged that ALAUG has funded its insurgency through the trade and taxing of the illicit drug trade and international human smuggling. Organized Criminal Syndicates like the Tchin Network have been known to work alongside ALAUG with a large amount of crossmembership between the two organizations. It is also alledged that Government forces have allowed this trade to continue in order to recruit rival criminal groups into joining Government Forces. There has also been a link between Islamist militants and the proliferation of Captagon, an amphetamine used by soldiers and militants to stay awake and fight for hours longer than usually possible. Since 2008 the conflict has transitioned away from a national liberation struggle into a drug war with superfisial political and religious justifications. Anthropolgist John Reed Belcher has coined the term Narco-Jihad to describe the conflict since 2008.
Since 2015 the conflict has become a low-intensity conflict, with a sustained international precess in the region. since 2019 there have been numerous high level comprehensive peace talks between the government and ALAUG officials.