Hayren War
| Hayren War | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Granika Border War | ||||||||||
 Hayren Militia in Armavir, 1978 | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||||
 Ruvelka |
 Hayren Republic |
 Republic of Syara | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||||
|
Kíra Kovács |
Mgrditch Virabyan Marie Torigian Hmayag Sarian |
Radul Apostolov Vasev (1974-1976) Krunislav Mircevski (1976-1980) | ||||||||
| Units involved | ||||||||||
|
Imperial Armed Forces of Ruvelka |
Irregular militia Foreign volunteers |
Army of the Syaran Republic | ||||||||
| Strength | ||||||||||
|
130,000 (peak) |
40,00-60,000 |
200,000 (peak) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | ||||||||||
|
8,000-12,000 |
20,000-35,000 |
7,000-15,000 | ||||||||
The Hayren War (also spelled as Hayeren War, or less commonly Hayern War) was an ethno-nationalist conflict waged by the self-proclaimed Hayren Republic from 1974 to 1980, which sought to unify the Hayren people of southern Ruvelka and Syara into a single sovereign state. Neither the Republic of Syara nor Ruvelka recognized the Hayren Republic and the November Declaration which established the Republic received limited international recognition. Although both Ruvelka and Syara originally agreed to resolve the matter peacefully, the outbreak of ethnic violence between 1975-1977 drew in both powers and resulted in direct clashes between the two before a ceasefire was agreed to in early 1980.
The concept of a united Hayren ethno-state had been floated since the Unification of Syara but had not gained serious traction until the post-Siduri War era. Beginning in the 1950s and 60s the Hayren Collective, the predecessor to the Hayren Republic, began gathering support for a proposed independent Hayren state. Support for the concept found limited traction outside the regions of Tarnova and Armavir; Syaran Hayren, who had increasingly embraced Zobethos fundamentalism during the Broken Years as part of the rising Warden Way, opposed the concept of religious grounds, while many Ruvelkan-speaking Hayren considered independence economically and politically unfeasible. With both Ruvelka and Syara distracted by the Granika Border War, and the brief Seven Day War, the Hayren Collective was able to gather weapons and funding and in 1974 issued the November Proclomation declaring an independent Hayren Republic which lay claim to the regions of Armivir and Tarnova, the former of which was split between Syara and Ruvelka. Neither Debrecen or Zovahr recognized the Hayren Republic and dispatched peacekeeping forces to quell the ethnic violence that had broken out shortly afterwards between rival militia forces. In early 1975 it was agreed that a popular referendum would be held in the same year to determine the fate of the Hayren people and the regions of Armivir and Tarnova. Disputes over the referndum however led to a continued campaign of violence between various pro and anti-independence Hayren groups, some of which involved the Ruvelkan Territorial Defense Force.
In August 1976 Krunislav Mircevski assumed the office of President of Syara and re-affirmed Syaran commitment to a peaceful resolution, but increasingly agitated Warden elements within Syara, outraged at the destruction of Zobethos shrines and monuments by militia groups associated with the Hayren Republic, demanded retaliation. Amid a deterioriating security situation Chancellor Kíra Kovács dispatched Imperial Fusiliers in early 1977, which led to further clashes between Syaran and Ruvelkan troops. Driven in part by Warden outrage, Syaran forces invaded the region in 1978. Ruvelka counter-attacked and succeeded in securing most of Armavir before they were repulsed from the region in late 1979 and early 1980. The prospect of a wider war briefly flared up over the winter before both sides agreed to back down and a ceasefire was signed in March 1980, leaving Syara in control of most of Tarnova and Armavir. The Hayren Republic, which had been largely sidelined by 1978, was declared dissolved by Zovahr shortly after the ceasefire was signed.
In comparison to the relatively brief and straight-forward Seven Day War in 1969, the Hayren War was noted for its chaotic and violent nature. More than 30,000 civilians were killed over the course of the conflict, with tens of thousands of Syaran and Ruvelkan military personel killed or wounded. The war heightened the growing societal divide within Syara between the nationalist, fundamentalist Wardens and the conservative monarchists of Makedon and Galania, which had opposed Syaran involvement in the war. Much of Armavir was devestated in the fighting, leaving the region in dire economic straits. Armavir was returned to Ruvelkan control under the Treaty of Aragon following the Zemplen War, but the population has yet to recover to its pre-war levels.