Tarini Civil War

The Tarini Civil War was a multi-sided civil war in E-Tarin initially fought primarily between the Ran Party (RP)-led Republic of e-Tarin and various rebel forces. By 2010, the Ran Party had lost control of the vast majority of the nation's territory and the war became primarily fought between the Tarini Communist Party (TCP) and their former allies in the People's Front for a Free e-Tarin (PFFT). Various foreign forces also participated extensively in the war, notably the Veikan government providing arms, training, and air support to the TCP and a joint intervention force supporting the PFFT.

Background
Since 1996, e-Tarin had been ruled by the Ran Party, a Tari ultranationalist political party and militia who had won the 1996 elections and suspended the constitution to seize power. They had forbidden all other parties and suspended any further elections. The Tarini National Army's ranks were purged and officers from the Ran Party militias were installed. Civilian policing functions were largely assumed by Ran Party militiamen who became more known for acts of ethnic violence towards the Veikan minority and largescale theft than any actual maintenance of order. Rape and isolated instances of murders of various ethnic Veikan individuals for various perceived crimes were also not uncommon.

In response to this discrimination and the announcement by the Ran Party of plans to put various former East Veikan officials on trial for their crimes during the apartheid regime, various pro-Veikan groups held a series of large protests in cities with large concentrations of ethnic Veikans and the capital city of Tasht. An estimated 300,000 ethnic Veikans and anti-Ran Party Tarin protested in 6 cities on 3 January 1997. The largest protest, in the majority ethnic Veikan city of Wablisi, saw nearly 140,000 protestors opposed by nearly 70,000 pro-government security forces and miltiiamen. Subsequent clashes saw the deaths of 41 pro-government personnel and nearly 600 protestors. The clashes saw extensive use of tear gas and live ammunition by pro-government forces.

The increasing unrest saw increasing oppression by the RP in return. The Ran-dominated Parliament passed a series of laws forbidding assemblies in public of groups larger than 6, prohibited the use or display of the Veikan language or symbols in public, and established internment camps in the highlands to hold those arrested for protesting. In practice, these camps quickly became sites of extensive forced labor as dissidents (or often even just ethnic Veikans swept up in various "crackdowns") were forced to work in mines or on the opium plantations that the RP had established to fund their new government. These camps were largely guarded by Ran Party militia fanatics while the TNA was used to suppress uprisings within the cities and police the countryside for Veikans who had fled the cities and begun robbing travelers and isolated homes to survive.

By early 1998, official and unofficial discrimination against ethnic Veikans had reached new heights. Openly ethnically-motivated violence by security forces against ethnic Veikans was the norm, 95% of Veikan businesses had closed their doors due to boycotts, vandalism, and robbery, and ethnic Veikans had been banned from many sectors of society. Offenses as small as a traffic violation or jaywalking could see an ethnic Veikan sent to an internment camp for nominally short sentences but which quickly became indefinite for phony charges of "acts of rebellion" within the camps. Additionally, intermarriage of Veikans and Tarin was outlawed and those within such marriages were ordered to divorce or both individuals and their children could be interned for their "crime".

In April 1998, Ran Party officials and leaders decided on moving into a decisive phase of discrimination towards the ethnic Veikans. Entire swathes of the country, including the seven largest cities in e-Tarin, were declared prohibited for ethnic Veikans to enter and any who remained for more than 7 days after the proclamation would be deported to the internment camps. In practice, Veikans were simply rounded up en masse (even within areas they were still permitted to live) and sent to the camps. The camps also saw a greatly increasing degree of brutality which was largely kept from the public and perpetuated by Ran Party militia members. Shifts of forced laborers were assigned quotas and failure to meet those quota would result in the entire shift being executed and their bodies dumped into abandoned or spent mine shafts. Often, workers were simply shot while standing on the edge of these shafts so that they would fall in, making disposal of the remains easier.

The extensive killings of Veikans had spilled out of the camps by early 1999 and Veikans were being summarily executed for various crimes or simply for being near Ran militiamen in the streets. Businesses and property owned by ethnic Veikans convicted of crimes were seized by the state and put up for auction so it was not uncommon for Tarin to report Veikan rivals or neighbors for various fabricated crimes in order to buy their property for much reduced prices at auction. Propaganda was utilized extensively by the Ran Party to depict the Veikans as foreign invaders and "vermin" in order to justify the atrocities. Nearly 450,000 ethnic Veikans had been killed by June 1999 and nearly 900,000 had fled the nation as refugees (mostly to Veikaia).

1999 invasion and initial phase (1999-2002)
The atrocities and abuse of the Republican forces were first significantly challenged in 1999. Ethnic Veikan refugees in refugee camps, located all along Veikaia's border with e-Tarin, had been covertly armed and trained by the Veikan military and formed the Tarini Communist Party (TCP). Their goal was the end of the killings and the establishment of a council republic along the lines of that which had been established by the Veikan Communist Party in its own civil war. Spurred by the beginning of open genocide, they launched an invasion of e-Tarin.

The opening shots of the invasion were fired by a group of 30 Veikan refugees who had enlisted in the Workers' Revolutionary Army (WRA). It is debated whether or not they were actually deserters or had been permitted by WRA leadership to leave their posts for the operation, in conspiracy with TCP leadership. What is known is that this group of 30 refugee soldiers left their posts at the Veikan border in the early hours of 19 June 1999 and crossed into Tarini territory, killing 6 Republican border guards in the process. They were soon followed by a force of nearly 4,000 ethnic Veikans, marching on foot and carried in an assortment of "stolen" WRA vehicles and civilian vehicles marked with TCP insignia. They were dressed in the uniforms of the WRA or old East Veikan uniforms and carried Veikan weaponry, including machine guns, autocannons, and mortars. Simultaneous crossings of similar composition but lesser size were undertaken at 3 separate border crossings in the northern section of the border. It is estimated that nearly 12,000 Veikans altogether participated in the initial invasion.

They managed to advance nearly 30 kilometers at their farthest before encountering significant resistance from the Republican army and RP militiamen. The Republic held the great numerical superiority but the TCP had the advantage of surprise and the fact that large portions of the TNA and RP militia were occupied with the mass killings and maintaining order within the nation. Further uprisings by the Veikan population of e-Tarin and the liberation of labor and death camps within the occupied territories gave the TCP further recruits, territory, and supplies. Uniquely from previous movements, the TCP was also equally open to ethnic Tarin who opposed the politics and actions of the Ran Party.

By 2000, the TCP controlled nearly 10% of e-Tarin. Besides the advance by their main body from the north, sympathetic uprisings had erupted across e-Tarin against Ran rule. 2 out of 23 provincial capitals were under TCP control. Additionally, several other groups opposed to Ran Party control had risen in armed rebellion. These included: the Democratic Party of e-Tarin (DPT), who advocated the end of one-party rule and the establishment of a multiethnic and federal parliamentary republic; the People's Liberation Party (PLP), a social democratic faction; the Tari Monarchist Party (TMP), who advocated the restoration of Clan Harir and the crowning of Vorham III as king; and the Tarini People's Party (TPP), who promoted a libertarian socialist and communalistic future for e-Tarin. Numerous other smaller factions arose but rarely gained enough traction to capture significant amounts of territory before being crushed or absorbed by one of the larger factions.

These sympathetic uprisings were the key to the breaking of the stalemated frontline that had been the situation since late 1999. With numerous threats arising in their rear area or within areas crucial to their supply lines, pro-government forces were forced to retreat in order to consolidate and prevent encirclement. Additionally, large numbers of TNA personnel had begun defecting to opposition forces, predominantly the TPP. Most significantly, nearly 90% of the personnel of the 232nd Tank Battalion defected to the TPP, executing or arresting their officers and taking their T-72 tanks and BIB-84 IFVs with them. This represented the emergence of the first armored forces among the opposition forces and propelled the TPP to second only to the TCP.

Another significant movement which arose in the extremely poor and rural areas of northeastern e-Tarin was that of the Party of Itiao. Ethnic Veikan religious extremists, they saw a return to ancient Akiemist worship as being the path to salvation for the Veikan people. They preached the idea that the tragedies befalling the Veikan people were the consequences of them having abandoned the old gods and focusing too much on the material world (known as "Akiemo"). Led by a leader known only as the Holy One, they waged holy war on Tari and Veikan alike as part of their crusade to cleanse Akiemo in preparation for the Itkriga where the forces of Nitia would finally be defeated and humanity (or just Veikans who followed him, according to the Holy One) would be reunited with Itiao in the metaphysical realm (known as "Tuxami"). They largely used antiquated hunting rifles, improvised explosives, and that weaponry which they could loot or steal to fight RP and opposition forces alike. They were most notorious for being one of the first groups to use suicide bombers on a large scale.

Opposition consolidation and stagnation (2002-2010)
On 14 July 2002, representatives from the TCP, PLP, TPP, and several smaller parties met in the tartan of Rasht to negotiate a union of their forces to oppose the Ran Party and Party of Itiao. Here, these democratic and Duvalist parties pooled their forces into a coalition that would be known as the People's Front for a Free e-Tarin (PFFT). They committed to defeating their common enemies and then holding a democratic and fair constitutional convention to peacefully determine the post-war system. This new alliance built upon previous informal cooperation against the RP and PI and their combined forces now numbered nearly 400,000 men and women under arms and controlled nearly 40% of the country. The RP controlled a further 45%, the PI controlled about 10%, and various smaller groups controlled the other roughly 5%.

Even with their strength consolidated, the opposition was unable to make significant advances into government-held territory. The vast majority of the TNA had remained loyal to the Ran and the PFFT was unable to make gains in the face of this superior materiel might, even if they were nearly evenly matched in numbers. Veikan air support and steady supplies of materiel enabled them to repel any planned government offensives and maintain their territory. Additionally, the inability to agree to establish a central command organization hampered cooperation between the various factions of the PFFT to the degree necessary to conduct any significant offensive. Any territorial gains resulted in significant infighting between the factions as to who would be able to predominantly recruit and administrate within the new territory. This inevitably resulted in the PFFT's hold being lost to RP counterattacks. Veikan pressure upon the PFFT's leadership to acquiesce more greatly to the TCP in command decisions served only to breed resentment among the larger minority factions like the TPP and PLP.

The back and forth nature of the conflict, combined with a massive increase in the volume of Veikan air strikes, resulted in significant destruction across e-Tarin. Towns and villages would often change hands several times within the span of a few weeks to months and each turnover saw more ruin in the fighting. TCP-operated aircraft often employed inaccurate improvised aerial bombs against RP fortified positions within cities. Known as "barrel bombs", these explosives were usually simple 55-gallon metal barrels filled with high-explosives and often some form of shrapnel like nails. These could weigh as much as 1,000kg (2,200lbs) and yielded significant destruction. Dropped from heights of around 300-500 meters, they could drift significantly off-target and strike civilian infrastructure. One significant example is the tartan of Yalasi (population of 44,300 prior to the war) which changed hands several times between the PFFT and PI. Barrel bombings, the use of armored vehicles, and PI IEDs resulted in not a single building being left fully standing by 2009 and no civilians remaining within.

The situation finally shifted in 2009 when the PFFT launched the largest offensive of the war yet. Using newly provided IFVs and T-72s from Veikaia and Goetia and backed by a heavy Veikan air support campaign, the PFFT mobilized nearly 280,000 troops and 500 armored vehicles in a nationwide offensive that began in the early morning of 10 September. Additionally, TCP battalions often were directly led by officers from Veikaia's Special Operation Force. There was also an extensive campaign of surgical raids on government airfields and other military facilities that were often alleged to have been conducted by Veikan SOF operators (confirmed by the WRA in 2019).

PFFT forced launched their offensive in a clockwise fashion, striking through PI-held territory and largely pushing them out of populated areas to swing around on the less defended government eastern front. RP forces largely melted in the face of this massive offensive. In the span of 4 months, the PFFT had managed to capture 99% of previously held by the PI and 65% of RP-held territory. Overall, the offensive resulted in the PFFT holding 85% of the nation's land area and nearly 90% of its total population by February 2010. Additionally, RP fighting strength had been reduced by nearly 70% with 30,000 government-loyal fighters captured and tens of thousands more killed or deserted. Many of these deserters would soon enlist with the TPP in order to make a living in the wartorn nation and many harbored too great a grudge against the TCP or latent anti-Veikan sentiments to join the Veikan-dominated TCP.

PFFT schism and foreign intervention (2010-2016)
The offensive resulted in very significant gains for the TPP, in particular. They had seen a massive increase in recruits from both the newly conquered territories and from TNA defectors. Additionally, it had been a TPP force which had captured Depot 241, the largest arms depot in e-Tarin. Hundreds of armored vehicles, dozens of tanks, thousands of small arms, and about a dozen aircraft were among the many tons of equipment captured. A large portion of this was turned over to the PFFT's common stocks but the TPP retained a large amount of equipment, including all of the aircraft and tanks, for usage by only their forces. This represented a significant boon for the minority faction and put it at near parity in raw materiel to the TCP's own stocks.

Furthermore, unknown to the TCP, the TPP and PLP leadership had begun talks with several foreign nations opposed to Veikaia for support independent to that received from Veikaia. They anticipated a conflict with the TCP and resented their domination. Securing promises of support and already receiving covert armament from Mero-Curgovina, Ringerike, and Marressaly (known as the Coalition), the minority factions gradually began to separate themselves from the TCP command chain and reliance upon their forces. Strategy meetings and operational planning began to be conducted without TCP officers, PFFT forces didn't respond to calls for aid from TCP-specific forces, and non-TCP forces refused to cooperate with Veikan advisers or SOF.

This situation became recognizably untenable and the TCP delivered an ultimatum to the rest of the PFFT to resume cooperation or they would leave, along with their Veikan backers. The non-TCP PFFT simply ignored the ultimatum and so the TCP announced their departure from the coalition on 19 August 2010. The announcement was met with a dull response from PFFT leadership who considered it a desirable outcome but could not publicly celebrate the schism. Additionally, the PFFT's Coalition backers openly declared their support for the new, TCP-free PFFT. They saw it as an effective way of opposing Veikan ideological expansion and sought an end to the conflict that had driven thousands of refugees into their nations. Though outright conflict had yet to break out between the former allies, the most significant initial support provided was the declaration of a no-fly zone by the Coalition over PFFT-occupied territory to counter any potential Veikan air strikes upon the PFFT forces.

The situation grew tense with TCP forces building up on the frontline opposite PFFT forces while fighting intermittent PI insurgencies while the PFFT continued a low-level conflict against the RP in the south. The conflict came to the brink of going hot in December 2010 when a Veikan MiG-29 on patrol allegedly drifted into the no-fly zone and was struck by a PLACEHOLDER MISSILE fired from a Marre PLACEHOLDER JET fired from between 12-16km (7-10 miles) away. The aircraft was flying at an altitude of about 8,000 meters (26,000 feet) when it was shot down. The remains of its pilot, Maj. Benaro Sari, were never recovered and he was declared officially MIA a week after the incident. It was later confirmed in a leak to media in 2017 that he had been captured by PFFT forces after landing in PFFT-held territory and turned over to Marre intelligence officers who interrogated him for technical and tactical information. He reportedly perished during interrogation from cardiac arrest. He was subsequently declared KIA in 2018, posthumously promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and awarded the Veikaia's highest military honor, the PLACEHOLDER NAME.

The incident was met with a significant outcry in Veikaia. The public and many prominent figures called for immediate retaliation while the government mulled over its response. It was eventually decided upon an aggressive response and a Veikan force of 14 fighter aircraft was dispatched to enter the no-fly zone. Veikaia had secretly informed the Coalition ahead of time that they would be entering and warned them against overtly aggressive action. At 1457 local time on 17 December 2010, the Veikan aircraft were met by a joint Ringeriker-Marre force of 29 fighter aircraft who circled just within engagement distance but did not close. For the next nearly 30 minutes, the two sides would circle each other warily with aircraft intermittently locking onto the other side. Additionally, threatening warnings for both sides to back down were radioed between the pilots. The situation came closest to going hot when a Veikan MiG-29 flew within 300 meters of a Marre PLACEHOLDER aircraft in a practice informally known as "buzzing". At 1525, the decision was made by Veikan command to disengage and the pilots were ordered to return to base. The Veikan government spun the incident as proof of the Veikan willingness to enter the NFZ and the Coalition's inability to stop them. In turn, the Coalition and PFFT reported that the Veikan aircraft had fled in fear of being shot down by the superior force.