Gladys Popular Freedom Fighters
Gladys Popular Freedom Fighters GPFF | |
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Flag | |
| Type | Political, Military, Terror Insurgency |
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• Commander |
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| Establishment | June 8th, 2012 |
The Gladys Popular Freedom Fighters, abbreviated GPFF, is a pro-Gladysynthian paramilitary group active in southern Gladysynthia along the Danaska River, the defined border with Zamastan. Originally formed as a counter-insurgency special forces group by the Gladysynthian Armed Forces to put down an uprising in 2012, the group expanded to include local militia groups who held extreme nationalist beliefs that sought to end Zamastanian rule of the Northern Isle and facilitate its reunification with Gladysynthia. When the GPFF aimed to carry out covert cross-border attacks on Zamastanian settlements on the Danaska River, the group was dissavowed by the Gladysynthian government but continued to operate as an organized militia. The 2018 commandeering of the GMS Lockwood and the shelling of Lower Tariel by GPFF loyalists kickstarted the Third Danaska War, which saw three weeks of violent clashes between Gladysynthia and Zamastan, including the brief occupation of Danaska. In the wake of the war, the Gladysynthian government outlawed the group and began clamping down on its leadership, arresting Conall Cearnaigh and hundreds of other sympathizers. Since 2018, the GPFF has waged a limited campaign against the Gladysynthian Army, mainly involving shooting and bombing attacks on troops in urban working-class neighborhoods. It has also been involved in organized crime and vigilantism. As of 2023, the group's estimated 1,000 remaining members active in small rural pockets.
History
Founding
In June of 2012, the residents of the lower Danaska area declared secession from Gladysynthia. The separation was not enforced by the government of Gladysynthia, and the revolution became violent. Protests soured southern regions of the nation, and for the next six months several bombings in Danaska, a city of 400,000 people, resulted in the deaths of 23 people and the maiming of hundreds more. Martial law was put in effect in December, and the military began a counter-terrorism campaign to root out rebel forces. The counter-terrorism unit and allied local militia became known as the Gladys Popular Freedom Fighters (GPFF) and forcably put down the revolution, though some furiously patriotic (pro-Gladysynthian) fighters within the group melded into the wilderness of northern Zamastan and the Northern Isle territory, seeking to annex areas for Gladysynthia. Premiere of Gladysynthia Amanda Marsden met with leaders of the GPFF movement and declined any further government support for covert cross-border operations, rather saying that any aggression deemed threatening to Zamastanian citizens would be condoned. In early 2013, Zamastan placed tariffs on Gladysynthian exports and blocked the importation of many of its' own goods following violent protests across the nation regarding the GPFF's occupation of uninhabited islands on the Danaska River, with President Cassious Castovia calling on Gladysynthia's government to "reign in the rebellious extremists within its military."
The rejection of the Gladysynthian government's support caused a rift in the GPFF, and in addition to the continuing Gladysynthian military buildup according to declassified documents, was the fore-fronting reason for the eventual commandeering of the GMS Lockwood which led to the crisis beginning. The subsequent Toleruna Insurgency, which began in 2015 and ended in November 2020, further increased tensions between Zamastan and Gladysynthia as border skirmishes became frequent. On June 5th, 2018, two Zamastanian soldiers were killed in a cross-border misfire accident by Gladysynthian forces, leading President Zacharias Castovia to close diplomatic relations further and Premiere Seswitch LaFlaunce closed off all flights from Zamastan and WEDA nations, as well as neighboring countries like Sontre and Noravia, and even nations with whom Gladysynthia had friendlier relations, like West Chanchajilla and Nual.
Third Danaska War
Post-conflict
Weaponry and operations
Casualties
The GPFF was responsible for more than 6,000 deaths in its founding years while combatting the insurgency in southern Gladysynthia. It was later responsible for 505 deaths, about 48% of the total deaths, in the Third Danaska War.
Structure
Political ideology
The GPFF's founding goal was the return of the Northern Isle to Gladysynthia by force, but since 2021 has sought to create a sovereign socialist republic along the Danaska River. ZIS Chief Adrian Sardou wrote that while the GPFF's adherence to socialist goals has varied according to time and place, radical ideas, specifically socialist ones, were a key part of GPFF thinking. Former GPFF volunteer Aer McKearney stated that while the group's goal was a socialist republic, there was no coherent analysis or understanding of socialism itself, other than an idea that the details would be worked out following a hypothetical GPFF victory.
During the early 2010s, the GPFF's commitment to socialism became more solidified as GPFF prisoners began to engage with works of political and socialist theory. Members felt that a version of the Chanchajillan Civil War in the Northern Isle could possibly be the key to victory against Zamastan, pending on the arrival of weapons secured covertly from neighboring West Chanchajilla.