Operation Afton

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Operation Afton
Part of the Zalluabed civil war
Night launch of F-18s from USS GHW Bush (CVN-77) in September 2014.JPG
Albarinean Z-11 Eagles take off from the ZMS Abotsford to strike Kubani Unit targets, December 2023
Date30 November 2023 - 22 April 2024
(4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Qahazar
Spillovers in Zalluabed
Belligerents
Western Euronia Defense Alliance logo.png WEDA
New flag of ANS.png ANS		 People's Republic of Qahaza People's Republic of Qahaza
Commanders and leaders
Zamastan Sabine Armitage
Emmiria Akram Sulaiman
Albarine Sadie Melhaven
Caspiaa Tullia Grönberg
Quetana Emília Medeiros
Sulifa Mohammed Farhan
Qolaysia Elihu Saing
Saint Croix and Bens Wira Santoso
Alcarres Akkin Gunaydin
Besmenia Elisabeth Rademacher (2023-2024)
Besmenia Thomas Pühringer (2024)
Elbresia Alexander Desende
Greater Normark Dan Haugen
Saint Offeat Lynne Bushore
Kalea Confederation Noa Apekalmoa		 People's Republic of Qahaza Suhaib el-Dar Moussa
People's Republic of Qahaza Awni el-Hameed
People's Republic of Qahaza Khaleefa el-Abdi
People's Republic of Qahaza Badr Ozer
Casualties and losses
17 killed
4 aircraft destroyed
CSS Audun Alstad damaged		 3625 killed
Multiple anti-aircraft defenses, airforce assets, and army vehicles, artillery, and tanks damaged or destroyed

Operation Afton was the codename for an international military operation in Zalluabed's separatist Qahazar region which began on November 30th, 2023, following a series of drone attacks by the Kubani Unit across the Tarijar Strait, namely in port cities in Emmiria and Albarine, as well as commercial shipping vessels transiting the strait. The operation, named for the Offeatean word meaning "evening", was the first joint WEDA-ANS military campaign. The mission authorized member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over the People's Republic of Qahaza, and to use "all necessary measures" to prevent attacks on civilians, which turned into a bombing campaign by the forces of WEDA and ANS against Suhaib el-Dar Moussa's military installations and vehicles. The coalition's objectives did not include aiding the rebel forces' efforts to take control of territory held by the government or PRQ.

Following the Saint Raneau drone strikes, several countries prepared to take immediate military action at a summit in Viitaniemi, and operations commenced on the same day with a strike by Emmirian, Albarinean, and Normarkian fighter jets, then Zamastanian and Quetanan forces conducting strikes from ships and submarines via cruise missiles and air assets bombing Moussa's forces near Kubani, Tuim, and Toutmoul. In Janaury 2024 a CCA-mandated ceasefire between Feyt Ayat and the Zakaraban government took effect, and the coalition was able to bolster its focus on the peninsula as both rebel and Zakaraban forces opened fronts against the PRQ. By April 2024, the air campaign largely ceased as factions on the ground had taken most PRQ strongholds and surrounded Kubani. The operation formally concluded on April 22, 2024.

Background

Deployed forces

Timeline

November 30

WEDA and ANS announced the beginning of military operations over Qahazar and the implementation of a no-fly-zone, warning the Zakaraban-based military regime to refrain from intervening. The first main strike involved the launch of 112 cruise missiles from Zamastanian, Quetanan, and Elbresian ships against shoreline air defenses of the Qahaza Brigade. The first round of aircraft sorties began when Albarinean Z-11 Eagles, Emmirian Kowsir-2s and Z-17 Condors, and Normarkian Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets operating from the airbase in Tarijibar and the ENVS Qayyom struck targets in the city of Kubani, including a series of warehouses reported to be storing ammunition and rockets from Suhaib el-Dar Moussa's militant stockpiles, and a series of launch pads from which the kamikaze drones had been fired.

Sustained anti-aircraft fire erupted in Tuim at around 22:33 local time. Three I-22 Moon bombers targeted 45 hardened aircraft shelters at an airfield near Toutmoul. At the same time, Zamastanian Air Force fighter jets conducted missions searching for Kubani Unit ground forces to attack. Electronic warfare Z-11s jammed Moussa's radar and communications.

Admiral Christopher Gest, the commander in charge of Operation Afton, states that there would be continuous allied air cover over Qahazar, and that the no-fly zone "is effectively in place". A V-99 Eclipse was recorded warning a shipping vessel "If you attempt to leave port, you will be attacked and destroyed immediately."

2 Albarinean AV-44 Varries intercept and guide away a Royal Zalluabed Air Force IL9-Ibis near the coast of Tuim.

December 1

Three Zamastanian Z-17 Condors and an Emmirian Kowsir-2 were on a mission to strike an airfield east of Tuim. While en route, an AEW aircraft alerted them to the presence of two Qahaza Brigade IL5-Nightjars. One of the Condors quickly locked on to one off the IL5s, and launched two short range air-to-air missile. The first missile brought down the IL5, with the second hitting the falling wreckage. Another Condor downed the other IL5 with a missile, with the whole engagement lasting forty seconds. The aircraft proceeded to bomb the airfield, destroying a confirmed 9 aircraft and several vehicles on the ground.

A Yuaneze freighter is intercepted and seized by the Emmirian ship ENVS Kanoun while en route to port in Kubani, and is revealed to be attempting to smuggle weapons, including surface to air missiles, to the Kubani Unit.

December 2

A Caspiaan Royal Air Force Z-11 Eagle flying as part of a joint strike mission with Zamastanian and Saint Offeatean fighters is shot down by anti-aircraft artillery two miles inland after dropping bombs on a road network linking the PRQ naval base of Timm Qasr with an air strip near Tuim. The coalition package was engaged by IU-23-2 ground anti-aircraft guns and two Kubani Unit gunboats in the harbor. The aircraft crashed in a field just south of Tuim, and the pilot, Lieutenant Svend Slette, is presumed dead, making him the first coalition casualty in Operation Afton.

January

On January 31st, 2024, a PRQ-piloted skiff pulled alongside the CSS Audun Alstad and exploded, killing 16 sailors. The ship had been in the process of rescuing refugees aboard overcrowded migrant boats, a move which was prohibited by Royal Navy and WEDA guidelines due to security concerns. The commander of the carrier, Øyvind Soland, was placed on leave while the military investigated the incident.

Reactions and criticism

There has been criticism over the handling of the operation and the belief that the Armitage administration failed to adequately consult Congressional Hall ahead of the first strikes. The Armitage administration defended its handling of the Zalluabed crisis, drawing a clear line between military and political objectives. Secretary of State Chantelle Carson told reporters "We are not engaged in militarily-driven regime change. Instead, the administration is engaged in time-limited, scope-limited action with other countries to protect civilians as well as our allies from forces loyal to el-Dar Moussa."

  •  Beleroskov: President Vladimir Belskorski called the operation "dangerously escalating an already dire situation" and suggested that WEDA should cooperate with Zalluabed's military to combat the Kubani Unit.
  •  Sateroc: President Oljon Slach condemned the drone strikes, but urged WEDA and ANS to "tread carefully" and called on them to end military operations in favor of a humanitarian route.
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