Imerti Conflict

Imerti Conflict
Syaran reinforcements arrive in Imerti
Date August 1987 - July 2010 (23 Years) Location Imerti Result Treaty of Aragon Region divided into Syaran and Ruvelkan protectorates from 1987-2005 Seized by Syara in August 2005 Ceded to Ruvelka after Zemplen War in 2010
Belligerents
Dombrád Autonomous Republic Ishkordhur Ruvelka	Imerti Concordat Syara
Commanders and leaders
Erdit Alibali Burrnore Maxhuni Dominik Veres Maia Sabauri Alex Veres Alexander Tóth Kamilla Kerekes Dominik Veres Edviná Molnár	Dragomir Zhelev Saša Mlinarić Zhivko Hristovski
Strength
12,500 60,000 (2005) 2,500 - 4,000	5,000 45,000 (2005)
Casualties and losses
2005: ~3,000 2,561 killed, wounded, and missing ~1,500	2005: ~2,500 1,766 killed, wounded, and missing

The Imerti Conflict was a ethno-political conflict over the region of Imerti on the border between Syara and Ruvelka. It lasted from 1987 to 2010, with the period of 1988 to mid-2005 as a frozen conflict, during which the region was divided between the Ruvelkan-backed Dombrád Autonomous Republic and the Syaran-backed Imerti Concordat. A paramilitary insurgency group known as the Ishkordhur fought against the Syaran occupation to unify Imerti into a single polity, with uneven support from Ruvelka and Dombrád. After initial heavy fighting during the closing months of the Refusal War, the conflict settled into a stalemate with scattered outbreaks of fighting between the two sides chiefly among the unofficial border known as the Imerti Division Line. In August 2005 after a period of increased tensions and clashes the Syaran military intervened directly and invaded the Dombrád Autonomous Republic, driving out the Ruvelkan military from the region. During the Zemplen War Imerti was largely under Syaran control until Ruvelkan forces entered the area during Operation Homefront, advancing to the Granika River. As part of the Treaty of Aragon that ended the war, Syara agreed to cede Imerti to Ruvelka in exchange for unrestricted travel rights for Syaran religious pilgrims.

The Imertan people, for whom the region is named, are an ethno-linguistic group distinct from either Syarans or Ruvelkas. For most of recorded history Imerti was part of the Symmerian Empire, followed by the Rioni Union before falling under the Ruvelkan Imperium in the 19th Century. During the Ruvelkan-Symmerian War the region was conquered by the Symmerians and later incorporated into the Republic of Syara. During the Third Chryse War part of the region fell under the dominion of the Ruvelkan Socialist Republic, but was recaptured by the Syarans during the Ruvelkan Civil War. Following the Siduri War and the Broken Years discontent among the ethnic Imertan populace began to rise due to a lack of representation in the Syaran Senate as the region was considered part of the the Realm of Symmeria rather than it's own state; Imerti interests were represented by Symmerian rather than Imertan officials more often than not. In response to the growing rise of nationalism amid the ranks of the Wardens, many Imertans started protesting in favor of greater autonomy or even independence, which the by now decaying Republic struggled to suppress.

During the Refusal War the pro-independence paramilitary Ishkordhur faction seized power in the regional capital of Dombrád in June 1986. When it became clear that the Wardens (by then steadily winning the conflict) would not accept an independent Imerti, the Ishkordhur appealed to Ruvelkan Chancellor Maia Sabauri who agreed to dispatch the Ruvelkan military to support the Imertans. The Wardens declared the act an invasion of Syaran soil and the Ishkordhur rebellion treason and dispatched 60,000 troops to region, leading to heavy fighting between the separatists and Ruvelkans against the Syarans. Syaran desires for Imerti were primarily driven by religious sentiment; Imerti is home to the Sanctuary of Artemis, one of the most holy sites of the Zobethos religion. Ensuring access to the Sanctuary for Syaran pilgrims was a major motivation for Syaran forces, in addition to the desire to avoid the implication that Syara was weak enough for its' territory to be invaded and annexed. Three months of heavy fighting ended with Ruvelkan and Ishkordhur forces in control of roughly 2/3rds of Imerti, including the regional capital. The Syaran retained control of the cities of Mlak, Kotodash, Uraki, and Macallje, but were unable to advance further. A ceasefire was signed in 1989 and reaffirmed by the Commonality-Principality Border Agreement of 1993, but critically both sides only agreed to the territorial division so long as certain elements were met, namely the free travel by Imertans to either side of the division and unhindered access to the Sanctuary of Artemis by Syaran pilgrims.

The terms of the treaty were not well received by some members of Ishkordhur, who considered any division of Imerti as politically unacceptable. Opposition to the state of affairs led the Ishkordhur to begin an insurgency campaign against Syaran occupation of Imerti, which occasionally led to the involvement of both Syaran and Ruvelkan military forces. Both Debrecen and Zovahr attempted to add legitimacy to their dominions by installing client states; Ruvelka formed the in 1990 while Syaran formed the Imerti Concordat in 1991. While both sides insisted their respective protectorates were the legitimate government both existed as little more than political extensions of their respective overseers.