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Open Conf lict in t he Horn 4 The 15 t h Engages 12 Sahilian Cyber At t acks 20
15t h MEU Realism Unit
WA R IN BOURA A RREI SPECIA L EDITION - PROFESSIONA L RELEASE
BACKGROUND & CONTEXT
IN THE NOW
4 Open Conf lict in t he Horn An overview of t he f reshly ignited war across t he Horn of Af rica
10 A nizay A brief look at t he capit al cit y of Boura Arrei
8 The KSA F A brief history of t he Kingdom of Sahil and it s armed forces.
12 The 15 t h Engages A collect ion of current event s as t he USMC engages in open conf lict wit h t he KSAF
OSINT 16 French Foreign Legion FFL Fighters seen in Boura Arrei 20 Sahilian Cyber At t acks Recent hacks and cyber warf are
W hat we do WAR is t he premiere print source for all subject s related to Defense and Securit y, ut ilizing t he best in OSINT, expert writers, and primary research to deliver t he clearest result s to t he defense indust ry.
Open Conf lict in t he Hor n The Kingdom of Sahil invades Bourra Arrei
A s Conf lict Erupt s, Boura Arrei accuses t he Kingdom of Sahil's army of at t acking peacekeeping forces, and t he United Nat ions Securit y Council calls for peace in a resolut ion to t he crisis. The war escalates during t he summer, wit h t roops being used to at t ack civilian t arget s, including f arms, while also killing civilians and at t acking t he civilian populat ion, including t he elderly and children f leeing into t he night . This war breaks out on t he f irst of May. A ceasef ire bet ween bot h sides is broken af ter t he Kingdom of Sahil uses helicopters to bomb f arms, killing 127 civilians and 6 8 soldiers, as well as reported chemical weapon at t acks on several villages. The internat ional communit y calls on Sahil to abandon it s milit ary operat ion against civilians, but it remains unclear what form t he government will t ake to avoid f urt her casualt ies.
W it hin t he past week t he KSAF has moved t roops into t he territory of Boura Arrei. There are report s of skirmishes bet ween t he KSAF and BAAF ground forces and unconf irmed report s of et hnic cleansing and t he use of chemical weapons against t he civilian populat ion of sout hern Boura Arrei. Due to t he unlawf ul invasion and occupat ion of Boura Arrei t he United Nat ions has issued a resolut ion requiring t he Kingdom of Sahil to wit hdraw all forces f rom t he sovereign nat ion of Boura Arrei and has aut horized member st ates to use any and all means allowed by t reat y and internat ional law to gain t he compliance of t he Kingdom of Sahil wit h t his resolut ion. The Kingdom of Sahil denies t he demands of t his resolut ion by demanding t hat all NATO t roops cease operat ions, wit hdraw to t heir bases and all bases, and immediately release
all det ainees held on t heir territory. Boura Arrrei addit ionally has accused t he KSAF of using chemical weapons against t he civilians of sout hern Boura Arrei by shelling t he villages of Boura al-'Amala, Boura al-'Arf alou, and Boura al-'Giroun who have been hit by art illery, as told by a Boura Arrei spokesman. "It is wit h t his in mind and in light of t he act ions of t he KSAF t hat t hey could not only cont inue to use chemical weapons but also engage in any ot her forms of at t acks t hat would be inconsistent wit h t he principles of internat ional law and t he principles of internat ional humanit arian law," he told an ext raordinary UN General Assembly session.
By t he Number s KSA F Forces
BA A F Forces
USM C Forces
4 x Divisions
1 x Regiment
1 x MEU, 1x ESG
Equipment : Russian small arms, Soviet Bloc weapons
Equipment : Cold War Era US Small Arms, Modern EU aircraf t
Equipment : Modern US Equipment , aircraf t
Capabilit y: MANPADS and ATGM capable, towed art illery, MBTs (T-72B and T-8 0 U), motorized armored cars and t rucks, APCs (BTR-70 and BTR-8 0 A), IFVs (BMP-2 and BMP-3), SPAAGs (Shilka and Tunguska) and t act ical ballist ic missiles (SS-1 Scud), Su-25, MiG-29 S, Yak-130 , Mi-8 , and Mi-24.?
Capabilit y: M113 APC, HMMW V, MANPADS (St inger) capable, M252 mort ars, LMTVs, JAS 39 Gripen and AW 159 W ildcat .
Capabilit y: AAV7PA1, M1A1 Abrams, M252 Mort ars, AV8 B Harariers, UH1Y Venoms and AH1Z Vipers.
The Kingdom of Sahil Sahil, of f icially t he Kingdom of Sahil, is a nat ion located on t he Nort heast Af rican peninsula known as t he Horn of Af rica along t he sout hern side of t he Gulf of Aden. The Sahilian nat ion is a very recent one, dat ing it s founding back only to 19 9 1 following t he dissolut ion of t he Somalian cent ral government in t hat same year and t he subsequent breaking of f of Somaliland f rom t he Somalian nat ion. Warmongering and civil war plagued t his port ion of Somalia?s history, and it was t he warlord and prof iteer General Ab Ul Hajadi who would go on to est ablish absolute rule in Somaliland, declaring t he founding of t he
Kingdom of Sahil wit h himself as it s king. Originally perceived to be a rogue self -declared st ate, t he Somalian government at f irst ref used to acknowledge Sahilian separat ion and independence, but was unable to re-est ablish cont rol over t he territory in Somaliland due to widespread internal conf lict and civil unrest . Despite receiving assist ance f rom t he internat ional communit y, Somalia remained f ract ured, and by 19 9 8 t he new Somalian government of f icially relinquished cont rol of t he Somaliland territory to t he Kingdom of Sahil. The internat ional communit y subsequent ly followed t his by recognizing t he Kingdom of Sahil as an independent st ate in t he Horn of Af rica. The Kingdom of Sahil is bordered by Somalia to t he east , Djibout i and Boura Arrei to t he nort hwest , and Et hiopia to t he sout h and west . It s territorial claim consist s of a land area of approximately 176 ,0 0 0 square kilometers (6 8 ,0 0 0 sq mi), making it roughly t he same size as Syria. It s capit al and largest cit y is Hargeisa wit h a populat ion of around 750 ,0 0 0 people in or around t he cit y and a tot al populat ion of around 2.2 million people. W it h few except ions, Sahilian cit izens are Muslims, t he overwhelming majorit y of whom belong to t he Sunni branch of Islam, alt hough small t races of pre-Islamic religious t radit ions do st ill exist in some regions and among some villages. The
Sahilian sense of ident it y is largely t ied to one of t wo et hnic groups t hat t race t heir origins back to pre-Islamic t ribes, t hose being t he Dayaha and t he Kulaasi. These et hnic dif ferences have divided t he populat ion of Sahil into t wo social st rat ums, wit h t he majorit y Dayaha being seen as ?normal? while t he minorit y lower-class Kulaasi are f requent ly regarded as second class cit izens. It is common in t he Kingdom of Sahil for et hnic Kulaasi cit izens, despite t heir racial and religious similarit ies wit h et hnic Dayaha cit izens, to be barred f rom working in cert ain businesses or at tending cert ain educat ional and polit ical inst it ut ions. Conf lict during and af ter t he Somalian Civil War led to widespread damage of civilian, economic, and milit ary inf rast ruct ure wit hin t he count ry. Following t he discovery of unt apped oil reserves in Sahil?s sout hern region of Togdheer, and under t he rut hless cont rol of King Ab Ul Hajadi, t he Kingdom of Sahil was able to recover f rom economic collapse and achieve some degree of f inancial independence. Western business interest s, including Scandanavian pet rochemical corporat ions, signed mult i-billion dollar cont ract s to est ablish exclusive drilling right s over t hese oil reserves. A signif icant amount of t his money was spent by Ab Ul Hajadi on reforming and modernizing t he nat ion?s armed forces which, unt il t hen, had consisted primarily of early Cold War Soviet arms and
Djibout i
Boura Arrei
Kingdom of Sahil
equipment lef tover f rom Somalia. In t ypical dict atorial f ashion, several million dollars went direct ly to King Hajadi and his personal f riends, whom he had promoted to high polit ical of f ices, in t he form of kickbacks. Meanwhile, t he majorit y of t he Sahilian populat ion lived in and cont inues to live in relat ive povert y wit h an est imated $437 of GDP per capit a. The Sahilian government , under t he absolute rule of King Ab Ul Hajadi, has used t he et hnic tension in t he nat ion to his advant age to cement his rule and est ablish power in areas of t he count ry t hat at tempt to resist his cont rol. Hajadi, being an et hnic Dayaha himself, has openly commented t hat ?The Kingdom of Sahil should be a home only to t he Dayaha?, and t hat ?The presence of Kulaasi in t his count ry represent s a severe risk to nat ional securit y and st abilit y?. In recent years, t he physical violence bet ween t hese t wo et hnic groups has escalated f rom beat ings to mob lynchings, shoot ings, and car bombings. This violence is usually directed by organized Dayaha milit ias wit hin t he count ry due to a perceived mist rust and deep-seated hat red of t heir fellow Kulaasi cit izens. This violence is of ten inst igated by Hajadi and his government in t he nat ional media, who convenient ly t urn a blind eye to t he Dayaha slayings of Kulaasi but immediately denounce any Kulaasi reprisals. In 20 13, following t he milit ary coup t hat f ract ured t he independent island nat ion of t he Republic of Duala and which saw t he count ry at risk, t he United St ates decided to intervene milit arily by deploying t he United St ates Marine Corps?15t h MEU to est ablish st abilit y on t he
island. This peacekeeping mission was known as ?Operat ion Silver Lining? and it succeeded in pacif ying t he coup forces and bringing peace to t he small island. In 20 14, t aking advant age of f urt her devolvement of t he sit uat ion in Somalia and it s ongoing civil war, t he Kingdom of Sahil quickly mobilized it s armed forces and invaded t he Republic of Duala virt ually unopposed, conquering and annexing it in less t han one week. Since t hen, t he Sahilian government has been repurposing t he island, dubbed Isla Duala, into a milit ary st rongpoint for it s Air Force and Navy. Being t he only island along t he nat ion?s coast , it provides easy access to t he Gulf of Aden and gives Sahil a st rategic advant age in t he Horn of Af rica. Following t his victory, King Ab Ul Hajadi declared his nat ion to now be an empire, wit h himself as it s emperor, t hat will conquer it s way to regional power and grow larger.
A nizay An izay is t h e capit al cit y an d r egion of Bou r a Ar r ei, which is led by 5 tribes, being the Anizay, the Danan, the Holhol, the Al Addian, and the Goebetto. It is a land locked area, with Boura Arrei being bordered by the Kingdom of Sahil, as well as Ethiopia and Djibouti. Anizay won its freedom through a series of civil wars, eventually turning itself into a fledgling commerce junction for the
region. Due to the commerce it produces, it is
the feud in the Kingdom of Sahil, assisted by
heavily protected by Boura Arrei, and sought
Chinese and Russian influence, and the
after for destruction by the Kingdom of Sahil to
proximity to american bases within Djibouti.
the East. Despite the commerce of Anizay, the region as a whole has the 6th most unequal income in the world, though they posses a per-capita GDP of over $75,000, the average citizen only earns around $2,000. This is mostly attributed to the local discovery of massive oil reserves in the country being exploited by outside investors, including many from Saudi Arabia, the United States, China and the UAE. The City of Anizay itself predates Europeon colonization, with a rich culture and many unspoken laws and rules with which they live by, they rarely accept outside help, in fact being disposed to in entirely is a safe assumption. Though when they do need to accept help they are inclined to go to the United States, due to
Thanks to outside influence from Russian and Chinese weapons and armaments, the Kingdom of Sahil has recently sought out to destroy Anizay in order to wrest control away from Boura Arrei, invading and ultimately massacring it?s people relentlessly, even going as far as to destroy the Mosque that was a mainstay of the capital city. Due to their lack of military power and influence, the United States Marine Corps has responded, working to push back the Kingdom of Sahil and further assist in the rebuilding of their infrastructure.
The 15 t h Engages US Marines participate in the ongoing Bourra Arrei Conflict
Th e 15t h M EU has been
AV8B Harrier II's found in the USMC's
seen operating in the Boura Arrei
several tactical strikes deep within
capital region of Anizay, in the hope of
Sahilian territory have completely
suppressing the KSAF movement and
neutered their SAM network, allowing
stop ISIL loyalists along their way.
US forces relative impunity in the skies.
Soldiers with the 15th MEU can be seen sporting the new H&K M27 IAR across the entire infantry force, indicating that General Neller 's efforts to modernize the force with its new weapon platform has been proceeding as planned. Reports on the ground show hard fought advances on the side of the USMC, finally halting the KSAF invasion of Boura Arrei and regaining ground for the western-aligned forces. The surprising amount of losses against what was assumed to be an inferior force has experts reanalyzing the paradigm of conflict, and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) has spoken at length on the shift in priority acquisitions towards better anti-ATGM defense platforms. Air Superiority additionally has been a challenging task for USMC forces, as the KSAF boasts an impressive array of Russian-supplied Mig-29S, Mig-23L and Yak-130 fighters, which have proven to be challenging opponents to the aging
arsenal. However, it appears that
ISIL Loyalists have also been seen operating in the region, possibly supported by the KSAF, and have been carrying attacks out on the local populace. In response, the 15th MEU?s Law Enforcement Detachment has been seen performing a campaign through the area, clearing several weapons cache as well as building hospitals in the area. Navy Doctors, called Corpsman, have been manning these field hospitals in hopes of preventing civilian distrust and providing further goodwill in the region.
The French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion has long been a a
as a menace to KSAF forces, and a blessing to
powerful force dedicated to protecting French
local french speaking citizens.
interests abroad, unique among modern military forces in that it accepts foreign recruits willing to serve French armed forces. Now operating within Anizay, they aim to protect French assets within the region, including Oil reserves purchased by the country and goods exported from the budding commerce of the area. Though they stay out of open conflict as much as possible, preferring to stay to themselves and not get between the waging forces of the USMC, KSAF, and BAAF armies. They mostly use special forces, including some of their top classed operators, to do small engagements when it is required, occasionally making contact with KSAF forces when necessary. Though France hasn?t openly made any accusations of such, and they are not willing to engage in any hostile actions. Their names have wandered around the region, both
The FFL fields many weapons, including the MAS 50 Automatic Pistol, the Famas F1 assault rifle, and many other forms of weapons. They field Machine Guns, Mortar teams, and a few lightly armored vehicles, mostly armored personnel carriers. They require no outside sources such as the Marine or BAAF forces, but they due communicate with them anything they feel necessary for them to know, marine intel packets suggest.
SAHILIAN CYBER WARFARE How a bac kwat er ki ngdom has t ak en t he I nt er net by st or m In t he p ast six year s alo ne, cyb er at t ack s car r ied o ut b y t he K ing d o m of Sahil have increased m o re t han t enf o ld . Cro w d st r ik e has id ent if ied f o ur new A P Ts d irect ly t ied t o K SA F act o r s, as w ell as num ero us co m p ro m ised ser ver s used b y t he K SA F. T he t ot al am o unt of f und s st o len b y K SA F has am o unt ed t o $ 2 .5 b illio n. In A p r il 2 0 15 , U.S. cyb er secur it y f ir m Cro w d St r ik e said t hat t hese A P Ts are b eing used t o m o unt several at t ack s o n t he U.S. f inancial syst em . A d d it io nally, t he K SA F has ut ilized cyb er w ar f are in B o ura A r rei, as t hey recent ly at t em p t ed t o launch a cyb erat t ack o n a French Em b assy of f ice in A nizay, t he cap it al of B o ura A r rei. In Sep t em b er t his year, an Sahilian g ro up , w hich called it self t he Sahilian Snak e, released a v id eo o n Yo uTub e of t hree m en car r ying o ut a cyb erat t ack o n a French b ank . A cco rd ing t o t he v id eo, t he at t ack er s t r ied t o o p en over 5 0 0 acco unt s in t he French b ank , am o ng ot her t ar g et s. T hey also at t em p t ed t o cause " an int er nat io nal cyb er-at t ack ." A s rep o r t ed yest erd ay, a US st at e d ep ar t m ent m em o revealed t hat K ing d o m of Sahil
had access t o B o ura A r rei p o w er f acilit ies f o r an ext end ed p er io d . In a relat ed d evelo p m ent , in Sep t em b er a hack er nam ed " Sab u" anno unced a new b at ch of m alw are called " So nic," w hich used co m p ut er secur it y v ulnerab ilit ies t o b reak int o syst em s. T he K SA F has used cyb er w ar f are t o d est ro y ar t iller y em p lacem ent s b y hack ing t he
"The Kingdom of Sahil has managed t o t ot al l y neut er BAaf ar t il l er y" ar t iller y ap p used b y co m m and er s t o m o nit o r t heir f ire and f ire co nt ro l syst em s, acco rd ing t o US of f icials f am iliar w it h t he m at t er. A K SA F cyb er at t ack d ur ing M ay 2 0 19 ag ainst a B A A F A r t iller y Co m ap ny d est ro yed m o re t han 8 0 ar t iller y canno ns and caused a sig nif icant lo ss of elect ro nic co m m unicat io n b et w een t ro o p s and B A A F co m m and , acco rd ing t o US of f icials f am iliar w it h t he incid ent .
Digit al bank heist s T he K ing d o m of Sahil's cyb er at t ack s o n w est er n t ar g et s w ere w id ely b lam ed b y t he w o r ld f o r causing chao s in so m e areas of East er n Euro p e, and t he co unt r y has t ak en sim ilar m easures t o p rot ect it s cit izens. In 2 0 0 9 alo ne t he co unt r y's cyb er t hreat t o o k t he lives of d o zens of IT ex p er t s, w it h m o re t han 2 0 0 co m p anies in W est er n Euro p e and N o r t h A m er ica t ar g et ed b et w een Jan. 2 5 and N ov. 3 0 alo ne.
sp ear-p hishing at t ack , w it h t he lat t er result ing in t he d at a of t w o m illio n b ank user s b eing p o st ed o n an FT P sit e. T he K SA F also launched a m alw are at t ack ag ainst b ank s in
Unpr ecedent scal e of cyber at t acks on f inancial inst it ut ions
In Feb r uar y and M arch 2 0 16 , K SA F t ar g et ed a num b er of b ranches of t he b ank . T he cyb er at t ack s includ ed a d enial of ser v ice at t ack , w hich t he K SA F claim s w as successf ul, and a
Greece, Po land , and Sp ain. Tw o m o nt hs lat er, t he K SA F launched anot her at t ack , t ar g et ing nine b ank s, w hich also successf ully t ar g et ed t he b ank ing inf o r m at io n of t he p resid ent of B o ura A r rei, st ealing his ent ire p er so nal f o r t une.
KSA F Sourced Cyber At t acks 226
12 20 12
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