Saharistan War
A conflict between the nations of Leafanistan and Saharistan that seethed for some time, much like the "phony war" period of RL WWII, before exploding into actual hostilities between nations.
Prelude to War
Guillemont Massacre
The origins of the Saharistan War lie not in the aggression of one nation against another, but rather an internal conflict in the small country of Jerobia.
The Guillemont Massacre was the root cause of the Saharistan War. An underground organization by the name of the People's Front of Jerobia (PFJ), a leftist anti-war group, had whipped up support for an anti-war demonstration in the Jerobian capitol city of Guillemont. Hundreds of demonstrators turned out for a march on the Jerobian Senate building, protesting the Jerobian government's involvement in the affairs of the nation of Hebrides Islandia, which had led to an entire Jerobian naval task force being annihilated by a nuclear weapon. Although the demonstration was initially peaceful, a handful of PFJ members among the crowd apparently drove the crowd to anger, and with more and more riot police being called up to block the protesters from the Senate building, the situation became increasingly precarious. The scene exploded into violence when a PFJ member hurled an improvised incendiary device at a group of police officers, injuring two. The protest quickly devolved into a firefight between Jerobian police forces and PFJ members, with a large number of non-PFJ demonstrators caught in the crossfire. Rioters broke into the Senate building, attacking Senators and government property in rage. Before long, the Senate building had burned to the ground, and more than thirty Senators were injured, with several in critical condition. Order was finally restored when military police were called in, and forcibly suppressed the rioting mob. Dozens of rioters were killed, and hundreds were injured.
The Senate, frightened that the PFJ might attempt to overthrow the government following that night's brutal riot and suppression, quickly passed a bill giving emergency dictatorial powers to a right-wing Nationalist politician named Ernst Strommer. Strommer immediately outlawed the PFJ, ordered National Guard and military police units to assist in keeping order while the police hunted down cells of the PFJ, and arrested hundreds of supporters, including politicians who had little to do with the militant wing of the movement.
Resistance
A figurehead soon appeared to oppose Strommer. A woman named Juliette Davison, apparent head of the PFJ, soon began to issue global communiques to the nations of the world, informing them that "[Jerobia] has recently succumbed to madness and chaos as right-wing nationalist plotters have wormed their way into supreme power, and begun to ruthlessly oppress any political dissenters, using the excuse that they may be supporters of a terrorist regime." Meanwhile, left-wing Jerobians were being rounded up and shipped off to secret camps in northern Jerobia, possibly as part of a Nazi-like extermination program.
The nation of Theao was the first to answer the call for help from the PFJ, and while their government did not supply any official support, a faction inside the goverment of Theao, known as the No-Relation-To-Theao-Goverment Liberation Army (NRTTGLA), pledged its support to the PFJ rebels, promising weaponry and financial aid. The NRTTGLA soon shipped off large quantities of assault rifles, sub-machine guns, rocket launchers, and a handful of sniper rifles to the beleaguered rebels.
The nation of Saharistan was next to assist the PFJ. Unlike the nation of Theao, however, the government pledged its official support for the PFJ rebels, and shipped 1,200 AK-47s and 108,000 rounds ammunition; 350 Dragunov sniper rifles and 3000 rounds of ammunition; 900 hand grenades; 130 SAM-7 anti-aircraft missile launchers and 390 SAM-7 missiles; 250 RPG-7 anti-armor rocket launchers and 750 rockets; two months' provisions of supplies in medical aid and food aid; and $35 million cash to the PFJ.
The Saharistani support, however, angered the nation of Leafanistan. Leafanistan claimed its intelligence agencies had evidence of possible connections between the PFJ and a radical communist terrorist group, called the Red Brigade, that was responsible for a number of high-profile domestic terrorist attacks in Leafanistan, including the assassination of the son of the High Father, the leader of Leafanistan. Thus, Leafanistan faced a two-fold dilemma: not only was Jerobia an ally of Leafanistan, and thus deserving of support in their fight against the PFJ, but also, if the alleged ties between the Red Brigade and the PFJ were true, then a successful revolution in Jerobia could give rise to an anti-Leafanistan government, backed by elements of the Red Brigade. Therefore, the High Father announced that a naval blockade of Jerobia was to be effected immediately, so as to cut off the flow of supplies to the PFJ, and demanded that the Saharistani vessel en route to Jerobia turn back for home or risk impounding and seizure by the vessels of the Leafanistan blockade.
