Al-Šāṭi News

[Sam]

Al-Šāṭi

BREAKING:
UTMAN LIBERATION ORGANISATION
TIED TO DOMESTIC TERRORISM


The Lalishi Liberation League has pursued international recognition and support under the leadership of Walim Bakhsh Marri, front.

A Cross-Services Intelligence Agency investigation has uncovered 'deep, longstanding, far-reaching relationships' between the Utman Liberation Organisation and the Lalishi Liberation League. Citing data contained within documents which currently remain under investigation, a CSIA spokesman stated: "It has been confirmed repeatedly in captured documents and prisoner interrogations, that significant ties exist between the ULO and Triple L terrorists. These relationships include, but are not limited to, cooperation in sourcing armaments and the use of profits from the sale of narcotics by the Triple L to fund ULO efforts most recently; with the goal of establishing a friendly nation in which to train and seek further recognition abroad'. The documents also indicated weapons, explosive training, and other support had been exchanged.

These disturbing reports come following another CSIA report earlier today that a major Triple L effort to conduct coordinated shooting and bombing attacks in the capital has been foiled in it's late stages. More than forty have been arrested in raids throughout the country.

From the Presidential Palace, President Ashkan has issued a statement:

'Brothers and sisters of Saheristan.

Today, our brave intelligence servicepeople put their lives on the line to defend us from a series of harrowing, deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. I am sure you will join me in congratulating all involved, and all CSIA men and women who work and fight, so we may sleep soundly.

But this victory has uncovered darker truth. The seperatist terror network spanning Cotf Aranye is more profound and concerning than our intellignece services had dared believe. Our enemy, the Triple L narcoterrorists and their ilk, stand in alliance with the Utman Liberation Organisation, who have terrorised the proud Republic of Lakhzovia.

To give our security services the best tools at their disposal, I have declared a State of Emergency in the Republic, but November's elections will not be delayed, I swear by God. We will not give an inch of ground, especially not where our democracy is concerned.

As we ponder our path forward, know that whatever happens, we will go forward with an unbreakbale resolve. There will be no submission. There will be no victory for mass murderers or those who enable them. We exist as one nation; unicellular; indivisable by any means, especially so by terrorism.'

[Sam]

Al-Šāṭi


Chairman of the Marital Staff Council, General Ahmad Abbas Khan

Operation Caracal: Troops to be Deployed to Lakhzovia

Chairman of the Marital Staff Council, General Ahmad Abbas Khan, has issued a statement to the press on behalf of the President, affirming that Saheristani troops have been ordered to Lakhzovia to take a direct role in fighting the Utman Liberation Organisation. The 4th Qubth-ut-Thawra Division, comprised of the 3rd, 8th and 27th Armoured Infantry Brigades and the 10th Logistics Brigade, will be flown and shipped to Lakhzovia over the next few weeks, and is expected to face fierce Utman resistance, working alongside Lakhzov forces to liberate key infrastructure seized by Utman separatists across the Transmecuria region. The deployment is expected to bolster Lakhzovia's foreign and domestic position, as President Kadassa's administration draws heavy criticism from a pro-Utman Rokkenjima-Achkaerin axis.

General Khan gave a speech at The Grand Kasbah, Al-Qādisiyyah to the 8th Armoured Infantry Brigade, saying "The enemy should be in no doubt that we are his nemesis and that we are bringing about his rightful destruction. As they skulk in the shadows with their Triple-L ilk, so will we and our Lakhzovian allies judge them in fire. It is not a question of if, it's a question of when. I know you will do our great republic proud."

The Caracal expeditionary force will be equipped with much of the latest in Saheristani military equipment, including the MPT-76 battle rifle and Merkava Mark IV tank; their performance in combat is being seen by some as advertising for the budding Saheristani defence industry.

[Sam]

Al-Šāṭi

Howitzers pounded insurgent strongholds yesterday.
Military to Liberate Talmar District from Separatists

Saheristani troops have launched a renewed effort to pacify the south Lalishistani district of Talmar.
Talmar district covers a rocky, mountainous, lushly forested series of valleys with limited agricultural land, encompassing over 500 villages and more than 400,000 settled people. While the government holds control of the district capital, the town of Jarcha, rural areas have belonged to the Lalishi Liberation League since initial Triple L gains there in 1991.

The guns of the 78th Artillery Regiment begun firing on insurgent positions in the southern valleys last night, while the air force precision-bombed a number of rebel sites. Meanwhile, soldiers have been closing roads and bridges from the south into Talmar, and turning foreign aid workers and journalists away for their own safety.

General Ahmad Abbas Khan refused to comment on the ongoing operation, but it is believed to be the most determined effort to evict the Triple L from to ever take place within a region of their heartland.

More to follow on this story as it develops…

[Sam]

Al-Šāṭi


Ms Barron, pictured two months ago with an army patrol.

BREAKING: Ecclesiastical Free Mundus Network Journalist Arrested; Charged With Drug Smuggling

Marjorie Barron, an investigative reporter and war correspondent of the Ecclesiastical State, working for Free Mundus Network, who recently broadcast a report from the Talmar District Red Zone, has been taken into custody by a Saheristani Army patrol. Ms Barron's cameraman, Mr Nolan De Vries, also  Ecclesiastical, has been transferred to a military hospital with a gunshot wound, following an incident which remains unclear.

Ms Barron, who violated the civilian exclusion order set up to protect the public, entering the Red Zone three days ago, was found with half a kilo of pure heroin on her person, attempting to pass a military checkpoint. Accordingly, she has been charged with possession of a class 1 controlled substance with intent to supply. It is believed Ms Barron aimed to use her standing as a reporter to gain access and exit from the Talmar District, a principal region for illicit opium production in Saheristan, for sale. Since the Talmar Security Operation commenced, the price of heroin has skyrocketed as the supply is curtailed, creating opportunities for vast profits in the market.

A spokesperson for the Talmar District Police Department issued the following statement:

A customary search uncovered the narcotics hidden within Ms Barron's personal luggage. She was held at a local jail before being transferred to the capital, to be held in a secure location for her own safety. Given the circumstances, Ms Barron, if guilty, appears to have been exploiting the current situation for her own gain. In doing so, she would have besmirched the art of journalism, and we will not be surprised if the prosecuting authorities push for her to be made an example of.

Ms Barron's cameraman was airlifted to a military hospital where he remains in a serious but stable conditon.

The crime committed by Ms Barron casts doubt on her reporting credentials, say political analysts; especially her most recent report, which questioned the conduct and professionalism of our brave soldiers in their fight against the separatist menace, containing allegations of indiscriminate shelling and atrocities against civilians.  Mrs Barron's lawyer and representatives from Free Mundus Network have denied all allegations and made accusations that Mrs Barron was framed by government agents, pointing out that she has never before been convited of any offences.

If convicted, Ms Barron may face the death penalty. The investigation continues.

[Sam]

Al-Šāṭi

Military images showed a number of Scud tests.
Military Stages Exercises, Tests Missiles, Warning the Iwi and Rokkenjima

Saheristani Scud-D missiles have been tested in the Krimeon Sea, the military has announced, as the President increased the readiness of the armed forces to it's highest level possible in peacetime. The missile launches were described as "successful" and part of "regular military drills to strengthen self-defence." Military analysts have noted that several missiles tested were fired distances that would equate to numerous ports, air bases and military installations in the Commonwealth of the Iwi. The Air Force has also stepped up air patrols over and around the Matilda Channels, as relations between the Republic and Commonwealth, which recognises and supports the ULO's self-declared state in alliance with Triple L terrorists, continue to sour.

The Saheristani Navy and Air Force are also conducting military exercises in the Krimeon Sea, closing to near outside the territorial zone of the Rokkenjiman naval base of Tiananmen, amid continuing tensions over the situation in Lakhzovia. A military spokesman was quoted as saying "Exercise Caribou simulates repelling an attacking enemy force by pre-emptive sea and air strikes. In these times, it is important that we are as alert as possible to all threats, and open to any possibilities to maintain our safety and security. Potential enemies must know of our ability to take stronger physical actions if we were put under pressure by the international community". Submarine missile and torpedo launches, as well as the destruction of derelict ships for target practice will also take place in the Krimeon.

As Saheristan increases it's domestic weapons production capabilities, plans for the future are set to include a greater and more advanced missile arsenal to deter foreign aggression.

[Sam]

Al-Šāṭi


President Ashkan at today's briefing

Mission Accomplished: Triple L Pushed From Talmar

Yesterday, army troops captured the town of Anfar which was the last bastion of the LLL in the Talmar Valley. This has marked the liberation of the entire Talmar district in short order. New, incisive tactics and overwhelming fire-power have won the day for government forces fighting to wrest the troubled district from the separatist insurgents from whom it has been a bastion for more than 20 years. A number of LLL fighters are believed to have escaped the area, though a small number are boxed into a small area of territory near Kalak Mountain as the army closes in.

Since the beginning of the operation, the Lalishi Liberation League's ability to operate in the region has been severely curtailed, though the elusive rebel leader, Walim Bakhsh Marri, remains at large, despite a broad and intensive attempt to locate him. However, five other high ranking rebels were killed by a precision air strike carried out by the SAF on an undisclosed location near the rebels's stronghold town of Sirwan.

Aiming to avenge their defeat, the Lalishi Liberation League claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack, above, in Al-Qādisiyyah yesterday, which killed 19 and injured many. In a defiant online statement, Walim Bakhsh Marri said:

"The Saheri government continuously perpetuates injustice and atrocities against the Lalishi people. The support of the Saheri people, whether directly or via inaction. enables this and makes you all responsible, just as I am directly responsible for protecting and avenging my people. Until we feel security you will be our targets and until you stop the bombing, imprisonment and torture of my people we will not stop this fight. We are at war and I am a soldier. If you are not, then fly your white flag, and free Lalishistan."

President Ashkan appeared at a news conference at the Grand Qasbah to hail the nation's brave troops, to pledge to eliminate the Triple L insurgency in it's entirety, and to dismiss allegations of illegal conduct by soldiers during the operation, as well as promising to send the perpetrators of yesterday's bombing "straight to hell".

[Sam]

Al-Šāṭi


A large peace demonstration is planned for the capital's Independence Circle, pictured, while a nationalist counter-demonstration will occur nearby.

Tensions Running High as Nationalist and Anti-War Demonstrations Look Set To Collide

The Saheri Brotherhood For Peace has announced plans for a mass protest in the capital's Independence Circle against the ongoing conflict in so-called Lalihistan. The veteran campaigning organisation has been protesting the conflict since it was instigated by the Lalishi Liberation League in 1989. An SBFP statement declared:

"For twenty-six years, bombs and bullets have done nothing to keep a single Saheri or Lalishi person safe, and more of either will do no more. We implore both sides to lay down their weapons and meet at the negotiating table to allow the discussion of a more permanent solution, rather that endless bloodshed".

While campainging for Lalishi independence is illegal, campaigning for peace in a general sense is not, and the mayor's office is expected to grudgingly approve the dementratrion. The SBFP's membership has swelled in recent years, with many thousands of young professionals and intellectuals joining their ranks and actively demonstrating.
 
In response, a number of groups such as the Wolves of Dawn have announced plans to stage a counter protest. While they have been denied access to Indepnence Circle on safety grounds, they have been granted the right to demonstrate in nearby Aman-Kabir Memorial Plaza. The Wolves of Dawn (officially known as the Idealist Front), as a ultranationalist Saheri organisation, has clashed with both police and peace demonstrators in the past. Yasir Mohammad Hejazi, leader of the Wolves, had this to say:

"This nation should not kneel for anyone, least of all for the Lalishi. Saheristan stands for justice; it does not kneel for a shameful peace. Quivering, fearful liberals and treasonous Lalishi sympathisers should not be in Independence Circle, they should be behind bars".

A demonstrator for the Wolves of Dawn makes their distinctive wolf hand gesture.

When questioned, Mayor Abdel-Ali said:

"Capital authorities make all appropriate arrangements to ensure that the right to protest safely and peacefully is protected. Regardless of foreign accusations, Saheristan is a free country with free speech, and both the Saheri Brotherhood For Peace and the Wolves of Dawn have the right to exercise it".

[Sam]

Al-Šāṭi
Violence Bloodies Capital as Election Polls Tighten
 

The Saheri Brotherhood for Peace’s mass protest in Al-Qādisiyyah’s Independence Circle against the ongoing Lalishi Separatist Conflict spiralled into chaos last night after fighting broke out between them and rival nationalist demonstrators from the Wolves of Dawn, killing 105 and injuring more than 1,000.

More than 60,000 Peace Brotherhood demonstrators, carrying pro-peace banners and placards, chanted for diplomatic solutions to the war which has ravaged the Adana State, which the Lalishi Liberation League claims as rightfully comprising an independent Lalishistan, throughout the day.
 
Meanwhile, nearly 30,000 marchers from the Wolves of Dawn occupied Aman-Kabir Memorial Plaza under police surveillance to stage a counter-demonstration against a diplomatic solution, beating drums, singing patriotic songs, and chanting in support of the governing National Rebirth Front and President Ashkan’s no-negotiation policy with separatists.
 
At 4:03pm, masked individuals broke from the main Wolves of Dawn demonstration and took control of an office building adjacent to the National Museum and Independence Circle, hurling bricks, masonry, bottles and a grenade down into the Peace Brotherhood marchers below. Demonstrators from both sides then clashed inside the building, while a fire also broke out, causing crowd stampedes.
 

 
Police riot squads and fire marshals were unable to quickly respond to the clash due to the size of the demonstrating crowds, contributing to the death toll and causing fire damage to numerous historic buildings, while sporadic free-for-all fighting broke out in streets between police and both demonstrating camps, leading to several stabbings and shootings throughout downtown Al-Qādisiyyah.
 
The Capital Police Constabulary has faced heavy criticism for its failure to control both marches, but the CPC Chief Commissioner, Hussein Muneeb Habir  said that his forces had not been insufficiently equipped and not numerous enough to provide effective security to both events, which had gone ahead despite misgivings from his office.
 
LIVE ELECTION REPORT
The riots have compounded the ongoing security crisis in Saheristan and sent shockwaves through the polls in advance of the election later this month, when President Ashkan hopes to win a second term and expand his legislative muscle against strong challenge for the Presidency from Faizal Abdel Vizar and his Liberal Democratic Party, which has been endorsed by the Saheri Brotherhood for Peace after Vizar pledged to prioritise peace talks with the Lalishi Separatists and suggested Lalishistan could be made an autonomous region within Saheristan and amnesty granted to separatist fighters.
 

 
Current polling averages put President Ashkan on 42% of the vote barely ahead of Representative Vizar on 40% in the polls, while low-ticket candidates Maria Oman Isa of the Socialist Left and Salman Yasser Fated of the Islamic People’s Party on 9% each. Were either Isa, Fated, or both to drop out of the race, polling could shift dramatically.
 
President Ashkan was previously expected to win a comfortable victory, but a surge in support for the charismatic Vizar, (who is especially popular with the young and the Lalishi minority) late in the election has surprised pollsters.

[Sam]

Al-Šāṭi

FATED ASSASINATED; SALAFIST FACTION CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY


Armed, masked individuals have claimed responsibility for the attack via video.

The renowned moderate Mullah and Presidential candidate of the Islamic People's Party, Salman Yasser Fated, was assassinated today, meters from the Slsalam Min Al'Islam mosque in the coastal city of Sakakah, following a campaign event. A bomb planted within the vehicle carrying Mullah Fated exploded by the west corner of Shaikh Omar Road, killing him, three bodyguards, two IPP campaign staffers and four bystanders, also wounding several dozen.

In a video statement sent to Al-Šāṭi, three masked individuals issued the following statement:

“We the true guardians of Saheristan’s holy Islamic tradition today struck down a mortal enemy who had raised himself up in our midst. Though he draped himself in the Islam’s banner he was no friend of Allah, rather he was a product of the wicked sinfulness of modernity attempting to lead our holy brothers and sisters astray.

As true caretakers of our peoples’ moral health we could not stand by while this Djinn and his perfidious followers engineered the takeover of the Islamic Peoples’ Party, in order that he could end its role as the bastion of Islamic virtue in our society and use it to spread his corrupted takfiri doctrine among the faithful of our land.

In shāʾallāh The Islamic Peoples’ Party will never fall to the forces of darkness masquerading as moderate Islam.

Allahu Akbar!”

A spokesperson for the Cross-Services Intelligence Agency said that CSIA was "working closely with law enforcement and Islamic People's Party to identify the perpetrators of this heinous attack and bring them to justice".

Mullah Salman won the internal party vote to nominate the IPP's presidential candidate late last year, narrowly defeating Abu Hashem Khalid, the activist Salafi Imam. Following his defeat, the Imam had continued to sharply criticise Mullah Salman as ideologically unislamic and compromisingly liberal on social issues. Recent polling placed Mullah Salman on 9% of the electoral vote, but 41% of IPP members polled doubted his commitment to the party's core principles. Todays events are likely to exacerbate existing tensions, with some moderates calling for the ejection of Imam Abu from the party for his "extreme" views, and to confirm the IPP's commitment to non-violence. Meanwhile, Imam Abu expressed "deep sorrow", and categorically denied any involvement in Fated's assassination. Al-Šāṭi understands that Imam Abu's home in Al-Qādisiyyah was  vandalised by apparent moderate supporters following news of the assassination.

Mullah Salman had written and lectured extensively during his life on Islam, democracy and modernism. His moderate and flexible Islamic outlook was summarised in his most famous work, Contemporary Democracy as Shura, an exploration of which Islamic traditions are fixed principles, and which are subject to democratic change, which he compared to shura, the special form of consultation practised by Muhammad, before concluding in favour of a democratic and peaceful society under tolerant Islamic oversight. He leaves behind two wives and nine children.

This assassination is expected to send shock-waves through the tight Presidential race, with Representative Vizar closely trailing President Ashkan. When polled last month to list the candidates in order of preference, Ashkan was the second preference of 61% of IPP supporters, while Vizar was the second preference of merely 8%. The IPP will be holding an emergency committee meeting for delegates to vote for a new nominee on Thursday.

[Sam]

Al-Šāṭi

AL-ISA DROPS OUT; ENDORSES VIZAR FOR PRESIDENCY


Al-Isa, pictured, has announced the suspension of her candidacy at a press conference.

The race for the Presidency has been shaken yet again, after Representative Maria Oman Al-Isa, presidential candidate for the Socialist Left, dropped out of the presidential race, announcing that the Socialist Left would instead endorse Representative Faizal Abdel Vizar of the Liberal Democratic Party. Socialist voters are expected to flock to Vizar reviving his flagging campaign, after the assassination of the Islamic People Party's Mullah Salman and the failure of the party to decide on a replacement candidate boosted President Ashkan and his National Rebirth Front.

Should Vizar win the presidency, it has long been expected that a coalition with the Socialist Left would be necessary to secure a legislative majority. The LDP's flagship plan surrounds their plans for a reconciliation process that aims to end the armed conflict with the Lalishi Liberation League. Vizar has broadly promised to limit abuses of power, presenting plans to comprehensively reform and the strengthen the National Assembly while limiting presidential powers. Vizar also plans to present a political ethics law to fight corruption and legally guarantee the political freedom of universities. The LDP also promises to provide a million additional jobs in the near future through investment in industrial development, while establishing vocational boarding schools in industrial areas to build skills among poorer communities.

Vizar has already been endorsed by the anti-war Peace Party and their classically liberal sister organisation; the Party for Progress, neither of which have run their own candidates for the presidency.

Polling estimates have now placed the two-horse Presidential race as being too close to call.