Twilight War Regions

[Mohoender]

I modified my text on the destruction of Aswn Dam. As a result, you get a more precise account of that event. it was the result of researches done on the subject. After all I'm living about 6 to 8 miles from the desintegrated Dam at Malpasset.

Just for fun, I still don't get how they could have chosen this spot. The team was freed of all charges but if they had asked the elder about the meaning of that name they would have known.

Malpasset (in the language of Provence) means "fucked up land" or "bad land".!!

At the Vajont in Italy, it was about the same, the mountain that ended up in the lake, resulting in the 160m high wave was named the "Mont Toc". It means unstable mountain.

No more comments.

[Targan]

Mohoender, your discussion on the destructive power of dammed water being released is actually quite topical given the recent tensions between South Korea and North Korea over what some in the south regard as the use of water released from a dam as a weapon by North Korea.

[Mohoender]

Mohoender, your discussion on the destructive power of dammed water being released is actually quite topical given the recent tensions between South Korea and North Korea over what some in the south regard as the use of water released from a dam as a weapon by North Korea.

I had not noticed that. I don't really listen to what happens Koreas. Too far away.

[Mohoender]

Maghreb (Northern Africa)

This region of the world doesn't experience direct fighting but it, nevertheless, slips into chaos. In Algeria, internal unrest has existed for years fueled by both the government and several Muslim radical movements engaged in a civil war. Attacks are tacking place on a regular basis and casualties are important but, with the Twilight War, these terrorist groups become even more active. The number of attacks increases dramatically in 2000 and their influence slowly spreads to neighboring countries: Morocco and Tunisia.

Morocco, which declares itself in favor of NATO in 2002, soon becomes a primary target of these groups and attacks are increasingly numerous, targeting universities, schools and various state institution. The army has been fully mobilized to face this new threat but remains unable to stop terrorist actions as it is now fighting on a two fronts. Indeed, with the repeated cancellation of referendums in Western Sahara, Polisario resume military actions in 2000 and attacks from the south have increased as well. When the nukes finally fall on Morocco in 2004, reducing Casablanca and Rabat to rubbles and decapitating the state, the country enters a full scale civil war which still mildly goes on.

In Algeria, the situation is even worse as the civil war has been going on since 1991 involving the Algerian Army, al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah al-Musallaha (GIA), the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) which is the armed component of al-Jabhah al-Islāmiyah lil-Inqādh (FIS) and the newly formed al-jamaa`atu l-salafiyyatu li l-da`wati wa l-qitaal (GSPC). All these groups are fighting among each other with the GSPC being mostly active in the South, the AIS controlling half of the guerrilla in the East and the West and the GIA being particularly active in the central region and in the capital city. The regular army is, then, fighting everywhere trying to overcome all these groups. However, when the nukes start to fall, the situation literally gets out of hand. The Algerian situation is special as only two cities holding oil and gas terminals are targeted (Oran and Skikda) while most of the nukes fall in more remote and lightly populated regions (Gharda-a, Hassi-Messaoud, Laghouat, Ohanet, Ouargla, Tin Fouye and Touggourt) effectively putting an end to oil and gas production in the country. Deprived from its last source of income, the army left with little fuel, the Algerian government fall in a matter of weeks and the civil war heats up finally resulting in millions of casualties. It continues to these days but the Islamist groups have now lost control of various coastal cities, including Al Djaza-r, and of Kabylia to local governments.

Tunisia, for its part escapes most of the turmoil despite some incursions by radical Islamism. President Ben Ali remains in office but the army takes over most public affairs as soon as 1998 and the borders with Algeria and Tunisia are closed. Then, as the international situation worsen the weight on Tunisia increases and in 2004 the army is forced out of the southern part of the country. With quickly reducing supplies and an industrial network increasingly lacking in raw materials the government understands that it needs some foreign support to survive. Therefore, when France, Belgium and Luxemburg form the FBU in 2005, Tunisia immediately applies. Due its long and good relations with France, Tunisia is quickly accepted into the new Union, providing some industrial output in exchange for military supplies. In addition, when EMPs are finally massively used toward the end of that year, France also provides technical support, greatly helping Tunisian reconstruction.

Libya, much like Algeria, is targeted by the nukes and loses more than 70% of its population as a consequence of the attack. This is explained by the fact that the capital of Tripoli is hit along Tobruk and its oil terminal. Then, several warheads fall to the desert where they destroy most of the oil fields (Gialo, Natoora, Safir and Waha). Strangely, the oil field of Bel Hedan and Dahan are spared along with what remain of the oil terminal at As Sidrah. In addition, Muammar al-Gaddafi, who was in the desert at the time of attack, survives and quickly reorganizes the country with support from the army and the desert tribes. Within a few months, under his authority, the capital has been moved to Sirte and many coastal cities have been secured.

The poorest country of that region, Mauritania obviously escapes the nukes and the war but the chaos that follows and the collapse of global trade pushes the country to where it was a century earlier, before French colonization. Tensions that had been kept under control, suddenly surface again and the country goes through a terrible civil war after a number of military coup resulting in the collapse of the institutions. At last, the old cast system is reinstated and most of the population turns back to nomadic life and to the desert.

Nowadays, Morocco has ceased to exist as a kingdom and as a state. Berber tribes are again controlling most of the High Atlas, living either a nomadic life or a sedentary life centered on the rebuilt Ksours. Many among the surviving cities have been destroyed or deserted but some still exist within the land or on the coast: Essaouira, Fez, Marrakech, Meknes and Tangier. Large quarters have been deserted, old fortifications were completed by new ones and each city is under the control of a Pacha who has the upper hand on political, economical and military affairs. Among them, the land locked cities turned toward commerce and traditional productions but the coastal ones now favor piracy. Radical Islamist group are still active but they are widely opposed by the Berber tribes and they have been pushed back to a few remote areas. While talking about Morocco, one has to say something on Western Sahara. With the collapse of the Moroccan, rule and the destruction of the wall, that territory gained a de facto independence under the rule of Polisario. The region didn't suffer much from the war and the population returned to a fully nomadic life. They are now living as nothing had happened and only gather twice a year around the now ruined city of Guelta Zemmur to discuss common policies among the tribes.

Life is more complicated in Algeria where the civil war is still going on and where assassinations and attacks occur daily. As a matter of fact, the few true surviving cities are located on the coast (Al Djaza-r, Annaba and Mostaganem), run by local authorities who support piracy, using traditional Arab sailboat and what little remains of the Algerian navy. Then, a single region is fully organized with a few working cities and local authorities that have managed to control more than a single urban center and its immediate surrounding: Kabylia. Its capital is Tizi Ouzou and the region, located to the East of Al Djaza-r and including Beja-a and Setif, is limited to the south by the Aures Mounts. After, the fall of central authority, Radical Islamic groups attempted to overrun that area but they were met with fierce popular resistance and the local population executed captured members of these groups with extreme cruelty. As a result, no radical Islamist has entered Kabylia for months and the region can count as organized. Elsewhere, the only viable cities are these located near remote oasis to the south while urban centers to the north are ruined with tiny, scattered and extremely poor groups occupying various quarters. The countryside, however, is controlled by prewar terrorist groups and under the constant threat of actions by opposing factions.

Tunisia remains the only viable country (and a member of the FBU) but to survive, the government had to abandon some lands. In fact, in 2003 a line of light fortifications was built from Gabs to Gafsa and, then, from Gafsa to Kasserine and Bizerte. These defenses remain in place today, constantly patrolled by the army with Tozeur (North west of the Chott el-Jrid) being the only occupied city outside of this defensive line, still exploiting the vast oasis and maintained as a kind of last outpost before the Sahara. As a result, the country only lost a fairly small portion of its population and Tunisians are living under fairly good conditions. Food is largely sufficient and, if electricity is only available to very few people, it allows for some industrial production in the country.

Libya, for its part, follows a very different path as its leader Muammar al Gaddafi survived the attack. After a very short civil war suppressed in blood, the man establishes a new state under the title "Islamic and Socialist Republic of Cyrena-ca" with its capital at Sirte. Then most cities on the Sirte Gulf survive and remain under the authority of Colonel Gaddafi. His rule is greatly reinforced by the continuous exploitation of a few oil wells as this allows the Army to remain fully operational (including a small air force) while the large quantities of weapons stocked in Libya prior to the war, and now largely available, prevents immediate shortage of military supplies. In addition, a general support from the Bedouins of Libya allows him to extend his rule over most of the desert and may be again as far down as northern Chad. Largely involved in piracy, the new state is certainly the most important threat to Mediterranean shipping as pirates operating from Beida, Benghazi and Sirte have access to light modern combat ships. Recent reports even suggest that Libya reached some kind of agreement with the Knight Hospitalers as Libyan pirates avoid to attack Knight's protected shipping while the Knights leave them alone when a target has refused their protection (The very nature of such agreement remain unknown, however).

Finally, Mauritania has become the most miserable of the Maghreb countries with no central authorities at all and no surviving urban centers. The entire population is back to the desert, the old cast system* has been reestablished along with full slavery** while the Hassane warrior tribes rule again over the region.

* Mauritanian population is divided among Zaouiya (religious tribes), Znaga (subservient tribes), Haratine (former slaves, freedmen), Abid (slaves) and Igaouen (griot, bards and magicians).
** Slavery has become a reality wolrdwide but nowhere is it legally recognized as in Mauritania.

[Mohoender]

Sahel

Entirely landlocked, the region extends over the Sahara and counts among the archest region on the planet. Entirely escaping the war, it finally falls to the global consequences that reshape large portions of the world. More than to the war itself, the region falls to climatic changes, to civil unrest spreading from neighboring countries and from internal movements.

First of all, a severe drought touches the region after the nukes fall and many among the subsistence herders and farmers are killed as a result of this. Then, things change in 2007 when heavy rains fall all over Western Africa. One could think that this is a good thing but one of the consequences of this exceptional rainfall is the development of locusts that invade the entire region and, then, spread north and south to Cabo Verde and as far as Israel, resulting in a destruction of crops killing as many people as the drought. In addition, civil unrest spread quickly from countries such as Algeria, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Nigeria and Sudan, bringing additional violence to a region that was already terribly shaken. Finally, internal violence increased as well, essentially in Mali and Niger and coming from revived Tuareg rebellious groups. As a result of all this, the various governments of Burkina-Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad all fell one after another and boundaries don't mean much any more.

Marauding bands essentially made of people from abroad are still wandering around in the southern part of the area and throughout Chad, bringing insecurity whenever they go. The local surviving populations, among the poorest on Earth before the war fall back to small villages and communities scattered around what remain of the weak regional water system. In fact, most of them are located in Mali and western Niger, on the banks of the last viable river: the Niger. Everywhere else water is increasingly scarce (the Lake Chad has been reduced by 50%) and communities that have existed for centuries are gone. These people are growing what they can and gathered whatever weapon they could for defense. Every prewar city is in ruin and their street are now filled with sand regularly blown by strong winds. Living within their walls has become impossible and they can be no more than a refuge for a night or two. In this general chaos, only two cities remain, acting as lighthouses in a sea of sand: Djenn and Timbuktu. Both are placed under the rule of an Islamic religious authority and act as centers of learning and trade again, centered on their respective great mosques. They have been lightly fortified and are protected by a number of warriors using camels and refitted four wheel drive trucks.

Only one group is doing almost fine in this area and it is the Tuareg. Free again, they all went back to the desert to a fully nomadic life, knowing every oasis and wandering constantly through the "Tinariwen" (The deserts). As in Mauritania, they rely again on slavery and again organize themselves into a confederation of tribes placed under the leadership of several "Amenokal" (Chiefs). This was made easier by the fact that Tuareg all understand each other despite some regional variation in their language, the Tamasheq. Since the refounding of their confedaration all Touareg leaders gather every two years on the site of Abalessa, former capital of the Hoggar and a place they consider to be their capital city. The leaders are men but women have their word to say as Tuareg obey traditional rules that are very different from these of other Muslim people.

Tuareg are matrilineal and unlike in many other Muslim societies, women do not traditionally wear the veil, whereas men do, wearing the traditional dark blue shesh (Tagelmust in their language). Taking on the veil is associated with the rite of passage to manhood. Else, Marriage is considered a private institution and no one has to interfere with a couple's marriage. The only tradition they know is a 'quarantine' period after one's spouse's death. In addition, there is no commonly punishment for women or men who were unfaithful. However, Tuareg are not supposed to have more than one life partner and once a couple is recognized, the two people are supposed to get married. Finally, it is highly unusual for anyone to remain single and when a partner passes away, the survivor is expected to marry again after the period of quarantine. Exceptions, however, are made if there are no potential partners, or the widow or widower is too old to get married.*

* Source: wikipedia.

[Mohoender]

I slightly modified the Sahel text to include a plausible locust invasion spreading from there to the entire Western Africa and into Sudan, Egypt and Israel (why not Portugal). That has been inspired by a RL event that was the locust invasion of 2004.

[Mohoender]

Upper guinea region

When I refer to that part of Africa, I"m aware that the region I"m referring to usually only includes Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. However, for reason of convenience I also added Guinea-Bissau and Senegal (Gambia included).

As most of Africa this region escapes the war but not its consequences and it is now largely under a stage of civil war that effectively started in the 1990"s. The first countries to enter civil war in the early 1990"s were Liberia and Sierra Leone and both conflicts intensified in 2000 when the UN and foreign troops had to be withdrawn because of the international situation becoming more tense everyday.

In Liberia, the rebellious movement opposing the brutal regime of Charles Taylor slowly gains supremacy until 2003 when Taylor"s regime ultimately falls. However, this doesn"t put an end to the civil war as Taylor"s regime is, then, replaced by an equally brutal one. More insurgency movements appear as a result of this and the civil war still goes on, making new victims everyday. In Sierra Leone, the situation could have evolved more favorably as some hope for a peaceful resolution of the conflict still existed in 2000. Sadly, after evacuating the foreigner, most of the international force withdraws and the conflict heats up again. Moreover, about a thousand Nigerian soldiers are left behind and survivors soon compose a marauding band that turns on the people they were supposed to protect.

In Guinea, after the arrest of several opposition leaders in September 2001, the country faces an outbreak of violence. Then, the increasingly dictatorial government and the growth of rebellious activity spreading from neighboring states finally bring the country to civil war in 2002. That conflict starts with huge protests taking place in the capital city of Conakry that are repressed in blood. Most casualties are of Fulani and Mandinka origin and the civil war quickly turns into an ethnic and religious conflict opposing the main ethnic groups of the country (Fulani, Madinka and Soussou).

As this is going on in Guinea, civil war already stroke Guinea-Bissau after the elections held in 2000. As soon as the first results are known, they are contested and within weeks the rebellious forces that had accepted peace a year earlier, takes up arms again. Four years later, the civil war has turned into a bloody ethnic conflict opposing Fula and Mandinka to the less numerous Balanta and Manjaco. In fact, that conflict has merged with the one in Guinea and both wars can be considered as one sole ethnic conflict with Fulan and Mandinka on one side and the other ethnic groups on the other side.

The only exception to this confused situation is that of Senegal which, under the leadership of its new president, reinforced its attachment to democracy. Nevertheless, the decaying world situation forced the government to rely more heavy on the army, expended it and rebuilding a combat air force that have been left to decay in the pre-war years. In addition, when violence went out of control in Ivory Coast, French troops were invited to Senegal and this strengthens the governmental position, helping the Senegalese authorities to resist the surrounding chaos trying to slip through the borders. Of course, civil unrest is not unheard of but it remains limited and mild while Dakar remains the main commercial harbor for Western Africa. In addition, the population still has access to some power supply and the average level of living is fairly high, contributing to general peace. The only exception to that comes from Casamance and Gambia which have join forces in an open war with Dakar. Civil unrest and low intensity guerilla in Casamance have been the rule for years but when the Twilight War appears, it increases dramatically and in recent years it has been increasingly fueled by guerilla movements operating essentially from Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

NB: The given years are that of my timeline but all the conflicts I'm refering to are for the most part under way since 1990. Therefore, this course of events seemed plausible to me whatever the timelines.

[Mohoender]

Lower guinea region

When the Twilight War occurs, the five states in this region (Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Togo) have all entered a process of democratization despite important corruption problems. However, the war brings most of these efforts to a progressive end, countries falling one after another.

That move toward chaos starts with Nigeria in the fall of the first year of the Twilight War when a General overthrows the elected president and establishes a new military junta. This time, however, things don"t go as in the past and the junta faces widespread opposition. When civil unrest starts to change into armed rebellion, the Igbo people in Biafra are the first one to act, seizing military supplies and attacking police outposts everywhere. As the army moves in, the Hausa secede and establish an Islamic republic over the Northern provinces, slowly pushing to the south with the declared intention of expending that Islamic state all over the country. As a result, the military is forced to split its forces to face the new threat and the advance in Biafra slows down, quickly meeting with military failures. In fact by early spring next year, the governmental forces lose Port Harcourt and most of the oil producing regions is now devastated. In addition, the Igbo are not the only one to fight in Biafra anymore as they have been joined by several minor ethnic groups. Things goes from bad to worse when the army, exhausted and unable to find enough military supplies on the international market fail to repel all the Hausa. The situation in Nigeria continues to degenerate and two years after the beginning of the civil war casualties increases dramatically. Heavy weaponry is increasingly hard to run and most fighting now involves mostly light weaponry and machetes while aircrafts have been grounded and naval ships are slowly rusting in their harbors. When the nuke fall in 2004, what is left of legal authority, government and rebels alike, collapses and the ethnic conflict keeps building up as it gets in the hands of local petty warlords.

With the quick reduction in international trade, pressure also builds up on Ivory Coast and widespread discontent finally turns into civil war when the government officially implemented a policy discriminating Ivorian of foreign descent. After new death during racial riots, a rebellious movement is created in the north (New Forces) which takes immediate military actions. As an answer to this, the Ivorian army moves north while the Ivorian president favor the creation of various militias to the south (Young Patriots and Lima Militia). The French army could have taken action but in the light of the events in Europe, the French leave Ivory Coast to Gabon and Senegal. With the departure of the French military, the civil war enters a new stage and fighting goes out of hand with massacre of civilians by both sides becoming the rule.

When civil war builds up to the North, as in Ivory Coast and Nigeria, the other countries in the region find themselves in an increasingly difficult situation. When rebellious groups start to cross the borders, their meager forces prove unable to repel them and find themselves in an increasingly difficult situation. That goes out of hand after the nukes start to fall and Ghana and Togo are overwhelmed by civil unrest and ethnic riots. Their government collapses, people go back to their regions of origin and to their natural distrust toward each other.

Benin is the only country to escape that fate as the government, relying on a new but relatively stable democratic system succeeds in united the people under the authority of the state. Nevertheless, as time goes by, the government is forced to withdraw from the northern regions, leaving the entire departments of Alibori and Atakora as well as half of that of Borgou to themselves. As a result of these losses the president realizes that the regular forces have no chance to stop the invasion and he issues a national emergency order allowing for an increase among the popular militia which grows from 4500 to a little more than 45000. This choice proves essential in the surviving of the state as, despite corruption, these militias prove faithful to the idea of Benin and fight with dedication on several occasions. Finally, the situation improves again when that states join the FBU getting much needed military support as a result of this choice.

Nowadays, Southern Benin remains an island of stability in the region and Cotonou has become an essential harbor for commerce and black market in this area. This is true to France of course but also to the various fighting groups wreaking havoc in the other countries and in need of an access to some military supplies. Benin, therefore, became the supply base from which military goods get in the region. Corruption is high but it is turned toward the outside and trying to push a soldier or a militiaman into betraying the government wouldn"t be wise. Outside of Benin, the situation is simply chaos and fighting is everywhere, brutal and bloody.

[Mohoender]

Horn of Africa

The region has always experienced turmoil and instabilities of all kinds and of course that didn"t stop with the Twilight War. Civil unrest and local conflicts occurred everywhere while the region is hosting one of the most dangerous countries in the world (Somalia), second only to the Central African Region and to the Indian sub-continent.

Surprising enough the relatively new Republic of Eritrea did survive the war and, despite being involved in conflicts with Ethiopia and Sudan, remains functional. First, this is achieved through the full collaboration existing between Tigray to the north and Afar to the south. Second, instrumental to this survival, you find the Warsai Wikalo Program that started several state sponsored civil projects before the war. Then, with the drying up of foreign money and the end of trade the government of Eritrea had to modify this program, replacing money by more had work on the side of people. As a result, while every male and female above high school age is free to do private business, they are all entitled to achieve several turn of public duties every year (military, construction projects, health care, teaching and agricultural work). Third, Eritrea benefits from rough landscapes that are highly favorable to the defenders. Last, the government which was coming from guerrillas quickly modified the army structure, getting rid of complex equipments and developing several small and simple ammunition plants. Nevertheless, Eritrea remains or was involved in several conflicts, including a small exchange with NATO. That conflict was short, almost one sided and has its roots in the complicated relations between Eritrea and the USA. Faced with US administration hostility and in need of foreign support, the government of Asmara turned to Russia before the war, opening the Massawa harbor facilities to Soviet military shipping again. Of course, by the time US and its allies got involved in the Middle East, soviet ship at Massawa were long gone or destroyed but in the eyes of the US command this still represented a threat. Soon, Eritrea"s ports and airfields were subjected to air strikes that destroyed the main three coastal cities (Assan, Massawa and Tio) and grounded the air force. Two other conflicts are, however, seeing extended ground operations and bring instability to the border regions. The first one opposes Eritrea to Sudan and has its roots in a dispute that started soon after independence when the new Eritrean government accused Khartoum of fueling terrorist movements within its borders. Not long before the war the two countries started negotiations with help from Qatar to solve that issue but this came to an end as the Twilight War built up. Finally, fighting started for good between Eritrean militias (mostly Tigre) and scattered bands of Sudanese marauders, bringing chaos to the western border as far down as the cities of kurdet and Nak"fa. The most important and the older of these conflicts is of course that opposing Eritrea to Ethiopia. This came to an end after independence but it was revived as the Twilight War started and Ethiopian incursions are still common on the former border with Ethiopia. Relations with Djibouti, however, have improved lately and the FBU is slowly filling the vacuum left by the termination of relations with Russia.

Somalia was and still is a powder keg and the withdrawing of UN missions didn"t improve the situation. The country is still in the hands of several warlords and fighting and massacres are common sight. The population has been reduced in dramatic proportions, food is scarce, but Kalashnikov and ammunitions are found at every corner of every market. In addition, piracy was developed in a tremendous way and Somali pirates are now operating all over the northern Indian Ocean, representing a threat to every ship sailing out of the Persian Gulf or the southern Arabic Coast.

Ethiopia fell also to ethnic and civil unrests but followed a very unusual path as the country had been divided among ethnic regions prior to the Twilight War. As a result warlords rule over the different regions but, constantly fighting among each other, have created an insecurity that plague the entire country. In addition, Ethiopia had to face a long lasting drought and food supplies remain mostly insufficient, resulting in the death of many more people among the population and in more fighting among warlords. Three of the ethnic regions (Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambela and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region), characterized by the absence of a truly dominating ethnic group, are plagued by brutal and continuous ethnic conflicts. A fourth one (Somali) is also facing a full scale civil war but, this time, it has spread from Somalia and the Ethiopian region slowly and fully integrated the Somali civil war. Then, the two ethnic regions bordering Eritrea (Tigray and Afar) are also experiencing severe fighting resulting from the continuous tensions that plague their relation with Eritrea. This is fueled by the desire of their local warlords to control Eritrean wealth. Therefore, these warlords regularly send raiding party to Eritrea but these have been successfully repelled and Asmara is now conducting retaliatory actions deep behind their borders. The largest region (Oromia) is also fairly stable and powerful, including the two chartered cities (Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa) and their functional but limited industries. Mostly counting as organized under the leadership of the Oromo Liberation Front, that region is facing some insurgencies, nevertheless, and part of its territory is disputed. The last ethnic region of Ethiopia (Amhara) is the most stable and the only one to fully feed its population. The Amhara region is ruled by more than a mere warlord as the local Negus resides in the capital city of Bahir Dar, the last large town in the area, located on Lake Tana at the starting point of the Blue Nile. With the chaos and the numerous deaths that marked the dissolution of the Ethiopian state, the largely Orthodox Christian"s population of Amhara left the cities to take refuge in the mountain villages. This move was encouraged by the Negus who issued an order that created a people"s militia resembling that of Eritrea.

Djibouti, the last country in the Horn of Africa, is also the only one to be fully organized; only facing a few incursions by marauders from the Afar region and Somalia. The city has become the sole commercial port in the area and the main link between Oromia and the sea. As a result, desert patrols are important and camels are again the main means of transportation departing daily to bring supplies all over the Horn of Africa. Placed under the full protection of France, early in the war, the country houses a much expended French garrison, an important air base and part of the French Fleet in the Indian Ocean. Moreover, local troops are often placed under French command.

[Mohoender]

Eastern africa

Eastern Africa has known its share of turmoil as most of the continent but as the Twilight War was starting, it was considered one of the most stable parts of Africa. Therefore, it started to be plagued with ethnic and civil unrest this was a surprise to everyone.

One country, however, had been the theater of a bloody civil war: Rwanda. This was over when the war started but tensions were still running high between Hutus and Tutsis and with the ensuing chaos, these tensions results in more violence again. A second civil war starts but this time it is not limited to Rwanda and quickly spreads to Burundi and later to Uganda. Massacres are numerous and bloody; rough estimates indicate a death toll which could be as high as 40% of the total population in all three countries. This time the world is unable to send any relief to the region and these deaths are followed by huge epidemics that might have killed almost as much. When everything is finally over, Burundi and Rwanda have been turned into giant graveyards while Uganda is in turmoil. Weakened by the ethnic war coming from Rwanda, the southern Bantu population shrinks and, then, comes under attack from the northern based sectarian terrorist movement known as the Lord"s Resistance Army (LRA). Within weeks what is left of the governmental forces collapses and Uganda enters a period of chaos which continues to our days. While several groups of Bantu are still fighting, the LRA engages in a war of terror in which murder, abduction, mutilation and sexual enslavement of women and children have become the rule.

Tanzania also fells the weight of the Hutus/Tutsis civil war but that doesn"t spread very far in the country and that conflict is not truly involved in the collapses of the state. However, Tanzania was highly dependent on world trade and it had turned most of its agricultural production to export. Therefore, when world trade collapses, so does the economical base of the country. Unable to adequately feed its population the government in Dar-es-Salaam is facing huge food riots and, under pressure, the military commanders fire at the people. However, the well trained army is soon faced by the People"s Militias (numbering more than 100.000) and the country enters civil war. The government forms new loyal militias and massacres are performed by both sides, resulting in terrible death toll as the food riots turn to ethnic wars. The most important of these massacres takes place in Zanzibar when the government sends 2000 regular troops and more than 20.000 militias to suppress a large protest movement that has been held on the Island for several days. Power supply is shot down and the troops land at night, spreading to the street in silence and killing people in their sleep. When everything is over, after several weeks of fighting, almost 50% of the population has been killed (30% more will die) along with all the troops and militias. As a result, the survivors form their own government, established their own militia and declare independence. Nowadays, the island can be considered organized, it is engaged in some limited piracy but, most importantly, it is slowly becoming a major center of trade again.

Kenya is the only country where the government remains in place, despite some limited civil unrest in the North East and North West that comes under control when supplies are delivered to the army in exchange for the establishment of a small US military base near Mombassa. This base has expended greatly over the moths and it now holds the entire US Forces for Africa with an air base and a military port that can service ships such as destroyers and frigates. In addition, the refinery established nearby has become very important to this force but also to the troops deployed to the Middle East. It is indeed the largest working refinery on the Indian Ocean and whatever crude oil can be shipped out of the Persian Gulf end up there to be processed. Of course, support from the fledgling US is insufficient to explain Kenya"s survival and governmental success also results from continuously working industries and from the emphasize put on what is now considered to be the three pillars of the state: Christianity, Swahili language and a revived the Massa- warrior tradition.

[scholar rat]

I like what you have done. I think if you use maps to show the areas that you are talking about would be real helpful to someone like myself who is somewhat geographically illiterate. no offense given.

[Mohoender]

I like what you have done. I think if you use maps to show the areas that you are talking about would be real helpful to someone like myself who is somewhat geographically illiterate. no offense given.

No problem I was thinking about doing it but it takes sometime to get them and I delayed that. I'll try to add them soon, however.

I'll post the last text on Africa tonight and after I'm done with that continent. Nevertheless, Cabo Verde and Madagascar have been left aside but I will do something on them later when I'll cover both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

For now, I'll stop posting here for sometimes as I have other things to write but be sure that I'll get back to this later. If any one has done something on other regions feel free to contribute.

Of course, anyone can have a very different vision but I simply hope that mine can be inspire some.

[Mohoender]

Sub tropical and south africa

This vast region of Africa has been plagued for years by guerillas and ethnic conflicts before everything starts settling down. However, tensions appear again with the Twilight War and even before that with the revival of the various guerillas. Then, with global chaos and the end of international relations, the entire regions enter a new conflict with every country in the area involved to some points.

First and most of important of all is the role played by the most powerful country on the continent: South Africa. Under the presidency of F.W. de Klerk the country had initiated a move toward democracy and the end of discrimination, legalizing the ANC and releasing Nelson Mandela from prison. Obviously, this was intended to put an end to the Apartheid system that had been in placed for nearly fifty years. In addition, the government officially dismantles its nuclear weapon programs, announcing that the army destroyed its nuclear arsenal while the government accesses the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The process seems to be well underway when in a referendum held in 1992, 68% of the white electorate voted in favor of dismantling Apartheid through negotiation.

Things turn sour, however, on the next year when Chris Hani, an anti-apartheid, activist is assassinated. The murderer escapes and is found dead on the next day. Investigation progress slowly and ANC leaders, following Winnie Mandela"s renewed attack on the white minority, accuses the government of duplicity. These allegations are almost immediately followed by the most violent riots in the country since the release of Nelson Mandela. First, located to a few Ghettos, these unrests soon spread to most of eastern South Africa and F.W. De Klerk is increasingly criticized within his own majority. The widespread violence and the government incapacity to put an end to it worry the white minority and most of the electorate switches its support. F.W. de Klerk is forced out of office and new elections are organized under the Apartheid rules, resulting in the election of Ferdinand Hartzenberg, leader of the Konserwatiewe Party van Suid-Afrika. During the following months the new government turns away from de Klerk"s policies and the Apartheid is again fully implemented (Also Coloured and Indians people retain their voting rights). In addition, the multi-racial elections that were already planned are cancelled while the ANC is banned again and Nelson Mandela placed under house arrest before year"s end. The new president goes two steps further when Winnie Mandela is also arrested and when he declares that South Africa will resume its nuclear program (The Army, then reveals that the existing bombs had not been destroyed).

The year that follows is marked by a gradual increase in violence throughout the country, among Blacks but also directed toward the White and Coloured communities. At last, many among the Blacks are expelled from the western region and sent to east as the army is expending, launching an increasing number of COIN operations in hope of stopping violence. In the meantime, the South African government reasserts its control over the city of Walvis Bay in Namibia despite widespread opposition by Namibian authorities and western democracies. Fully aware of its weaknesses and unwilling to bring the country back to war, the Namibian government (former SWAPO) finally accepts the situation and renounces its claims on the town.

From then, South Africa faces growing civil unrest with the western regions under almost full control by the white minority and the east increasingly under the threat of a better organized but divided Black community. Indeed the native populations of South Africa fail to unite and their various movements (ANC, Inkhata, PAC and SAPC for the most important ones) fight as much among themselves as against the White community. Nevertheless, the new government is facing its own difficulties as it is widely condemned by the West and by the Warsaw Pact. However, several countries in the West, more aware of the increasingly tense global situation secretly back Hatzenberg"s administration.

As the world accelerates its course toward the Twilight War, the internal conflict in South Africa becomes increasingly brutal. Casualties are constantly increasing while repression becomes bloodier but, except for some verbal condemnation, the world doesn"t do anything and this doesn"t change even when what was widespread civil unrest finally turns to full fledge civil war. At last, the situation changes again when most western countries, facing difficulties in the Twilight War, put an end to international sanctions on South Africa in exchange for access to South African raw materials. Things go one last step ahead as the nukes are falling all over the planet. At that time, South Africa is well aware of the military backing received by the black insurgency from several of its neighbors and it finally takes the decision to use nuclear devices to put an end to the civil war. As a result, six nuclear attacks are decided with the first one being dropped on Harare in Zimbabwe. Almost simultaneously, three attacks are launched toward Mozambique where the main cities are destroyed: Inhambane, Maputo and Pemba. Finally, the last two are used on the South African soil, ravaging the capital cities of Lesotho and Swaziland.

These attacks didn"t put an end to the conflict and the South African civil war is still going on. However, the native movements have lost most of their foreign support and far too much combatant while the Hatzenberg"s government gets full control over the Cap province, the Gauteng province and the white enclave of Durban in Natal.

Among South Africa"s neighbors two escape the war and most chaos, finally siding with the government of Pretoria in exchange for military supplies and direct support by the South African army. These are the two lightly populated countries of Botswana and Namibia which, despite ethnic stability, are increasingly plagued by guerilla groups crossing the borders and bringing destruction with them. In a desperate need to expend their military forces to meet this threat, the two governments finally turn to South Africa. Of course, several marauding bands continue to bring destructions to these two countries but their military forces, now well supplied and trained, are increasingly capable of meeting that threat. The other countries, however, are all plagued with widespread instability but to very different levels.

Before the war, Angola took a path to a peaceful resolution of its civil war but this changed with the successful 1991 coup in Moscow. Then, UNITA which has been increasingly isolated and lost support from the West in favor of the MPLA turns to the Warsaw Pact. Indeed Jonas Sawimbi, leader of the UNITA, true to his word ( "I am not communist because it serves no purpose. Nor am I a capitalist. Socialism in this country is the only answer.), turns to Russia for supplies. Soon, the UNITA is joined by the FNLA which turns to China and the three groups that had been fighting each other for years resume full military action. For a time the MPLA which is still the legal government of the country, backed by the West, gets on top but that doesn"t last as South Africa and Namibia allow military supplies from Moscow and Beijing to transit through their territory, slowly shifting the military balance. Finally, when supplies from abroad dry up and the conflict loses in intensity, it is already too late and much of the population had been killed, victim of the civil war. The situation gets even worse when Cabinda is nuked reducing national income to almost nothing.

Malawi and Zambia both falls to an entirely different matter as their respective governments simply fail to maintain the economy. Then, with the war, their stagnant economies simply go bankrupt and most people find themselves out of work and unable to buy food anymore. The population starts to protest and both governments are quickly facing large food riots. The two countries respective security forces are unable to manage the situation and civil unrest last for months, putting even more strain on the fledging governments. Finally, as food riots turn to ethnic conflict, with both countries ravaged, legal authorities simply disappear.

In Zimbawe, the decline starts when Mugabe"s government takes the decision to expel the white farmers to give the land back to native people. Those white farmers mostly leave for South Africa and when it is established that Mugabe"s regime supplies weapon to insurgent movements in South Africa, they weight heavily in the decision of using nuclear weapons. Only one bomb is dropped on Zimbabwe, however, but it destroys the capital city of Harare, decapitating the state. Left with no guidance above the village level the survivors turn on each other for food.

Mozambique is hard hit by the nukes, however, and that event instead of ending the ongoing civil war, fuels it. All the sudden, surviving governmental troops and rebel forces fight with some kind of desperate energy. In addition, with the ensuing chaos, the various ethnic groups in the country attack each other, adding an ethnic dimension to the already brutal fight.

[Mohoender]

African Map

As I couldn't find a satisfying map, I made one for the African regions and hope you'll find your way around. For more detailed elements (cities, topography...) you are on your own, good luck, I'm using an Italian Atlas.

[Matt W]

NETHERLANDS SUGGESTION

. The government recently moved back to Groningen while the surviving ships are now stationed in the small harbour of Harlingen. A few oil rigs have been secured in the North Sea allowing for a trickle of oil to be produced but most of it is supplied to the few aircrafts still operating from Leeuwarden. The Dutch are still lacking in everything and electricity production is non existent but, outside of foreign marauders, the country can be considered organized, the population taking the situation with patience and some kind of philosophy.

Um... it's not just the North Sea that would be useful. There are HUGE and ONSHORE natural gas fields in the northern part of the country. BTW, these fields are a good source of helium

Perhaps the French might neutralise the Dutch by making an offer to help rebuild the natural gas infrastructure - in exchange for (maybe) 50% of the output