Norcustsur conflict
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| Norcustsur conflict | ||||||||
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.jpg) Royal Security Police team on a tactical exercise during the Hartfer blutstat quarantine. | ||||||||
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| Belligerents | ||||||||
| Communist Party of Radictistan |
Loyalist paramilitaries
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| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
 Dieter Smelfann (DSP) Erwin Temblemann (DSP) Sir David Radicsten (DRA) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | ||||||||
| 2,000-4,000 (estimated) | 4,000-5,000 (estimated) | ||||||
The Norcustsur conflict, also known as The Communist insurgency in Norcustsur or colloquially as The Troubles up North is an ongoing internal conflict within the Grand Duchy of Radictistan between government security forces and the Communist Party of Radictistan, a Communist militant group which aims to overthrow the present Radictistani government and replace it with a single-party Communist state. The KPR was unknown to Radictistani authorities until it began its armed campaign by bombing an office building in the city of Hartfer owned by Radictistan Automotive Works, Radictistan's top automobile manufacturer. Despite an aggressive and manpower-intensive effort by security forces, the party continued to successfully stage attacks against industrial and political targets as well as against the security services themselves.
By the end of 2017 most of the original leadership of the KPR had been killed or were in government custody. By then the campaign had killed more than four hundred[1] security personnel and over three thousand civilians. Attacks continue to be carried out in the name of the KPR but on an infrequent basis.
Background
The Grand Duchy of Radictistan is a developing country with a high level of income inequality and rampant economic cronyism. These have led to a large portion of the population becoming alienated by their lack of economic opportunity. These trends are especially marked in the northern county of Norcustsur with its traditional industrial economy. The seemingly inevitable result has been the economic-political radicalization of members of the working class and some blutstaters. This radicalization provided the Communist Party of Radictistan with a fertile field for recruitment.
Timeline
First attacks
The KPR began its armed campaign in a dramatic fashion. A truck bomb fashioned from more than two metric tons of ammonium nitrate and nitromethane was detonated inside a parking garage in Hartfer located directly underneath an office building owned by Radictistan Automotive Works. The blast tore a massive hole in the structure and killed forty-eight persons. Two pipe bombs were simultaneously detonated at district heating plants to the north, killing one utility worker. These attacks were followed closely by the KPR's first official communique, which announced the organization's intentions to inflict as much harm as possible to the Radictistani elite and act as a vanguard for a future Communist revolution. Radictistan Automotive Works made a perfect target because of its close connections to the Royal Family.
While the Royal Security Police attempted to obtain actionable intelligence on the KPR's activities, the group's leadership was busy planning another strike at society's vulnerable underbelly. Mere days after the RAW bombing, six gunmen arrived at the Sudermann mall in Hartfer and opened fire on the shoppers and security personnel inside. Thirty-six people were killed in the mall attack. Three of the terrorists were killed at the scene and a fourth was fatally shot by police during their escape on foot. The survivors fled into the Hartfer blutstats where it was impossible for the security forces to follow.
These attacks demonstrated the near total impotence of the Radictistani security forces. The ability of the mall attackers to escape into the vicious blutstat areas as well as agressive actions by the controlling gangs against the police showed that the KPR was being assisted by organized crime. This fact has greatly complicated investigative efforts since. The Radictistani authorities responded to the mall attack by declaring a state of emergency for the entire County of Norcustsur and army personnel from 19th Light Division were deployed to Hartfer. The blutstats were completely sealed off in a desperate attempt to prevent terrorists and gangsters from moving freely. The quarantine proved impossible to maintain and was quietly dropped after sixty-one days.
Continued violence
The KPR continued its campaign after the initial Hartfer attacks but at a lower level. The organization focused on conducting a large number of relatively small-scale attacks using timed or remotely-detonated bombs, mortars, and sniper fire against security forces and affluent civilians. Popular targets were lone or small groups of security personnel, shopping areas, industrial facilities, and the gated neighborhoods where many of the Radictistani upper middle class live. There were also targeted assassinations of judges, Crown Prosecutors, and industry leaders. The active service units normally chose to pursue poorly-defended targets to minimize their own casualties. Interrogation of captured terrorists rarely yielded useful information regarding the group's plans; the KPR employed an extremely effective system of compartmentalization. A few high-profile attacks were carried out in the eighteen months following the initial Hartfer attacks. The bombing of a Hartfer department store killed sixteen people. A bomb planted on a Hartfer municipal bus killed twenty-five. Attacks also took place outside Hartfer, including a sniper attack at a Nubarghof ski resort which killed six. While nonlethal, the bombing of a radio transmitter used by RBS Radio Norcustsur was a humiliating episode for the government as it gave the insurgents a window with which to broadcast their propaganda on a popular frequency.
The public concern with the Communist insurgency reached a fevered pitch when the KPR opted to commemorate its obsession with Radictistan Automotive Works by planting a Semtex explosive on a RAW corporate jet. All twelve persons onboard Flight 241 were killed. Among them were six senior executives. One person on the ground was injured. The KPR claimed responsibility for the attack that night through an audio tape delivered to a private radio station in Hartfer. The failure of the security services to apprehend the perpetrators of the attack proved to be one black eye too many.
Loyalist paramilitism
The wake of the aircraft bombing brought the reputation of the security forces to a new low. Within weeks several vigilante organizations became known to the authorities. The members of these organizations generally referred to themselves as "Loyalists." Each claimed to be involved in suppressing the epidemic of anti-government violence. These included the Hartfer Volunteer Group and the North Free Corps, the latter of which is rumored to be associated with the National Conservative Party. The security forces treated the loyalist paramilitaries as a security threat rather than an as partners against terrorism. The activities of the paramilitaries, which consisted mostly of harassing and murdering left-leaning activists and community leaders, seemed to the government as vindication for its evenhanded treatment of armed groups. However, every arrest in connection to armed loyalist activity brought with it condemnation from many persons victimized by the communist atrocities.
Operation Firebird
After a long period in which the security forces operated on a defensive posture, the army and Royal Security Police mounted a major strike at the KPR and its allied blutstat gangs. This offensive was designated as Operation Firebird to symbolize the renewal of government authority in those areas. The objective was the apprehension of known KPR bomb makers and assume control of sites used by the terrorist group to launch mortar attacks against more affluent districts. The County of Norcustsur Police was not informed beforehand because of concerns about security leaks. Operation Firebird was a mixed success. Of the four bomb makers who were the main objective, one was killed in a shootout with army troops and a second was apprehended by a team of Special Action Group operators. Two others remained at large. Two soldiers and one SAG operator were killed during the operation. Eleven soldiers and three Royal Security Police personnel were wounded. The operation resulted in a prolonged occupation of the blutstats by the Royal Security Police.
Election
The Constitution of Norcustsur required that an election be held for the Norcustsur Assembly in 2014. The KPR made numerous threats against election workers, candidates, and voters through its pirate broadcasts. The government responding by allocating additional Army troops to reinforce the overstretched police forces. Despite the increased security attacks continued including a KPR mortar strike on a National Conservative Party rally in Hartfer and subsequent revenge attacks by loyalist paramilitaries including several murders and some looting. The major paramilitary groups subsequently issued their own threats towards voters in Labor-dominate areas.
In the weeks leading up to the election, the Army deployed two additional infantry brigades for internal security, one each from 19th Light Division and 36th Airborne Division. The Royal Security Police deployed an additional eleven thousand personnel The pre-election saw an increased use of large, improvised mortars known colloquially as Kaserneknackers (Radictistani: Barracks busters). These weapons fired projectiles filled with up to sixty kilograms of explosive. The most common targets were army and police facilities and major industrial plants.
Complicating the security response to the new threat level was a provision of the Internal Security Act prohibiting military personnel from providing security at voting sites and other premises used by election officials. Only nine days before the scheduled vote did the Radictistani parliament pass a waiver for Norcustsur. While consideration had been made to activate select National Defense Organization units from outside Norcustsur, that step was ultimately not taken.
Despite the heavy security presence, the KPR and paramilitaries carried out 93 attacks on election day against polling places, candidates, and security forces, of which 48 were in Hartfer. Severe restrictions on private automobiles imposed within the major cities kept more than a handful of vehicle bombings from being carried out. Election day saw the first use by the KPR of remote-controlled aircraft to deliver explosives to targets.
Over the course of the day seven soldiers and twenty-eight police employees were killed along with over two hundred and sixty other people. Two Labor Party candidates were killed, one outside his home and a second while standing in a voting queue. One National Conservative candidate and one Fascist Democratic candidate were also killed. Six KPR cadres were captured by security forces over the course of the day and at least nineteen were confirmed dead. One captive committed suicide while in custody prior to interrogation. Two known paramilitaries were killed while engaged in attacks and a third captured by police.
The election resulted in substantial gains for the National Conservative Party, ending the FDP majority and resulting in a hung assembly.
Casualties
Economic effects
The Norcustsur conflict has resulted in a downturn of the Norcustsur economy and that of Radictistan as a whole. The county and national economies saw a drastic curtailment of foreign direct investment and other sources of foreign capital. Unemployment rose within key sectors of the industrial economy and the radin began to rapidly lose value, threatening the country's ability to pay for critical imports such as petroleum products or service its large sovereign debt. A sharp rise in the price of cooking gas led to riots and demonstrations in several Radictistani cities.
The Bank of Radictistan raised interest rates twice in an attempt to strengthen the currency and avert a balance of payments crisis. These actions led to the beginning of a countrywide recession.
In popular culture
In the television series Schumacher, the protagonist Karl Schumacher is an officer in the Royal Security Police who was wounded during the 2014 Norcustsur elections before being reassigned to command a station in rural Eastval.
Notes
- ↑ This figure includes only deaths directly attributable to KPR action and not fatalities from blustat incidents in which KPR involvement is suspected but unconfirmed.