Saroqi War of Independence
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| Saroqi War of Independence | |||||||||
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| Part of Saterocian constitutional crisis | |||||||||
 Saroqi infantry during the Battle of Elmonton | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Sateroc |
 SaroqSupport: | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Isipath VII |
Ali Asphaug | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 80,000 estimated |
60,000 estimated 80,000 civilian support | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 1,200 to 1,800 Saterocian soldiers | 10,000+ | ||||||||
The Saroqi War of Independence was a short armed conflict between Sateroc and Saroqi rebels in 1923 from January to February, which led to Saroq winning its independence from Sateroc. The short, yet complex conflict lasted several weeks, which was mostly characterized by the brutal battle for the city of Elmonton. The conflict mainly took place in Saroq, however it had large repercussions in Sateroc with the Saroqi victory exacerbating the Saterocian constitutional crisis, due to the fact that Saterocian forces had been easily defeated by underequipped militias.
After the Saroqi wheat shortage caused a famine in the relatively poor region throughout the 1910s and into the 1920s due to harsh economic policies by King Isipath VII, protests began in Elmonton, however these were short lived, as large amounts of Saterocian troops would be deployed into the city and 13 protestors were subsequently killed after a sudden crackdown. This move, among many others, led to an armed mutiny by ethnically-Saroqi soldiers that had been deployed to suppress the dissent. The mutinous soldiers allowed Saroqi dissenters to storm arms factories in Elmonton and take arms so they could stage their own rebellion. At first, Saterocian forces were able to keep the uprisings centered in Elmonton, however after more and more troops were getting killed as the rebellion intensified, public opinion back home in Kolkesburg called for an end to the war and demanded that their own troops withdraw from Saroq. The fact that Saroq was also receiving support from outside powers meant that the monarch and military of Sateroc was losing more and more support as the war went on due to the harsh tactics they had been using against the rebellion. Amidst the fighting, Ali Asphaug and several other notable leaders of the fight for independence formed an emergency government in Elmonton, and Asphaug was quickly inaugurated as the first President of Saroq. After several more weeks of fighting and the rebels swiftly gaining ground across the region, King Isipath declared his willingness to negotiate with the rebels.
After four days of negotiations, which ended with the Erkaut Accords, Sateroc agreed to withdraw its forces from Saroq and allow for a transition to independence for the country. However, this move was met with disapproval from Isipath's own military officers, and this, among many other factors, led to a national schism between the monarch and military leaders in Sateroc which almost led to the own country's civil war. These military officers, which had mobilized their loyalists in case of a potential civil war, also threatened to intervene against Saroqi independence, in which they would send their mobilized forces to "restore national order" and arrest President Asphaug. However, after the 1923 Saterocian constitutional reform, this never ended up happening. In the end, Sateroc refused to recognize Saroq as a real country, claiming it to be a "highly autonomous region", yet still officially part of Sateroc. After several years of negotiations, both nations agreed to pursue informal economic relations.
The war would end up causing nearly 15,000 deaths despite its shortness, with over 10,000 casualties, both militarily and civilian, going to Saroq. Around 1,500 Saterocian soldiers were killed in Elmonton, and the remaining few thousand deaths are estimated civilian deaths that were unaccounted for. War crimes were also a huge issue throughout the conflict; mostly done by Saterocian forces, these include the massacre of civilians, torture, and forceful relocation of Saroqi citizens, along with sending thousands of suspected partisans to concentration camps. Saroqi rebels also committed war crimes of their own, most notably detaining and executing suspected loyalists, as well as forcing Saterocians out of their homes and back into Sateroc. Upon gaining independence, thousands of Saroqis fled to Saroq from Sateroc, while tens of thousands of Saterocians fled to Sateroc from Saroq. Despite the agreement claiming that both sides must respect civilians who were suspected of helping the other side, Saroqi authorities recognized many Saterocian loyalists as traitors, and regularly arrested them, either choosing to deport them into Sateroc or just torture them. Many of these suspected loyalists, around 2,000, managed to flee into Sateroc and were swiftly granted refuged by the Saterocian government.