Istapali

[Svetlana]

---

While many had expected January's coup to at least bring some sense of stability to the country through its mixed civilian-militarist powersharing agreement, the government quickly lost control of the situation as the population turned agaisnt it due to the unresolved Ebola outbreak and continued repression of left wing organizations and parties that denounced the kleptomania in the highest circles of governance, and in response the crackdowns intensified to the point of political assassinations happening on a daily basis.

This powderkeg of tensions and instability finally exploded on the Second of September when a regiment of soldiers from both the ground and air force marched on Namaji to depose the government, known as the Young Officers Clique. They stormed the presidential palace alongside the buildings of TV Istapali where their leader, Rungano Mangwende proclaimed the end of the Sublime Federal Republic of Istapali and proclaimed the Istapalese Virtuous Federation of Labour. He then suspended the constitution and dismissed the junta government before appointing himself as "President of the Revolutionary Transitional Government of National Concord" and his ally, Nduma Takawira as "Premier of the Revolutionary Transitional Government of National Concord".

Shortly after, the leader of the deposed junta Funganayi Mutambara declared Rungano's coup and the dissolution of the republic as illegitimate and a "shameless attempt by outside forces to subjecate Istapali to their disgusting communist lies and fantasies that have captivated the population". Mutambara continued and declared an "open and total war against the bloodthirsty demagogues of RTGNC", and that the National Reconciliation Junta calls upon "all patriots of Istapali" to "rise up and resist this illegitimate government." 

A day after the coup happened, clashes occured between revolutionary and federalist forces as Rungano Mangwende ordered his forces to take the building of the Federal Assembly and the Supreme Court while NRJ forces escape out of Namaji and begin relocating to Antoque in hopes of installing a parallel government to crush the revolutionary junta given that most of the army sided with NRJ instead of the RTGNC. In response to the clashes in Namaji, citizens have begun forming their own local mutual defense committees using weapons taken from abandoned baraques and military posts as some people have taken advantage of the chaos to loot, kill, and rape across the capital a far cry from how the city used to look a mere 3 years ago.

Seeing the armed forces of Istapali eating itself in the north, Ekina separatists rose up against the NRJ and proclaimed the Blessed Kingdom of Ekidonia with Jongephi Vetyeka as its regent and head of the Council of National Rejuvenation. Whilst the Ekina separatists have taken villages across the border with North Dovani, it is still unknown what their intentions are in this conflict as it extremely likely that the kingdom will ever survive once the armies in the south finish eating each other before averting their gazes back to the north to crush the revolt.

---

Written by @ClubIstapali