Kalistan

[Doc]

Life in Kalistani occupied Kizenia
"War feels a million miles away," say residents
Luncasi, Kizenia
August 12, 5681


Local resident request information on voter registration in Luncasi

The Kalistani occupation in Southern Kizenia is just about two months old, and the zone remains at peace as Kalistani Regulars continue to coordinate security and logistics operations in support of Egelion military operations further to the north. For the most part, life in both Luncasi and Deltabor remains relatively unchanged, though Kalistani Regular Military patrols on the street have become far more common following two notable incidents in late July aimed at the occupation by supporters of the military junta, including a fire that nearly destroyed the City Hall and a mass shooting at a voter registration drive.

"There has been a slight uptick in politically motivated violence since this zone was liberated," said Colonel Rachel Olivio, who commands the 3rd Bn 10th Artillery Regiment of the Northern Regular Army, and whose unit has been designated as one of 5 provisional MP units to help civil authority police Luncasi. "We've seen more isolated incidents where people are taking shots at both representatives of the reinstated civilian authority, especially within Luncasi, and Kalistani troops moving through the town. These attacks are generally isolated, conducted by snipers and rarely so far have resulted in any casualties or injuries, though the voter registration drive affair did have some non-lethal injuries. So we are stepping up our patrols to maintain a presence on the streets here to help Civilian Authority maintain order, and to show our presence here in town."

The change is meant to be fairly transparent, and not greatly inconvenience the populations of either town. "Our soldiers are working very closely to augment the role of civilian police officers, not necessarily to investigate crime or anything, but to act as security for communities, to report suspicious activities to local authority, who is much more equipped to respond, and to improve trust between the people and the reinstated civilian authority." Col. Olivio noted that until Kalistan's invasion and occupation, the civil authority was nominally considered agents of the Junta. "Trust between the civilians and their civil authorities was damaged by its association with the junta. But we also noted that most of the people that civilians interacted with were career civil servants, and none of the offices in either of these cities were political appointments, so reinstating them was appropriate, and so far the civilian authority have demonstrated dedication to civil service and accomplishing the business of the people of these two cities." They have been very cooperative with Kalistani military imperatives.

Some new issues that the Kalistani Regular Army is experiencing is a newer interaction with loyalists and ex military members associated with the FIA partisan group. "Mayors of both Luncasi and Deltabor have asked us not to permit FIA partisans to occupy these cities, for a couple reasons," said Olivio. "We can't fully vet these arriving militia members to determine who is a loyalist to the ousted monarchy and who is a potential supporter of the current regime who is trying to infiltrate the city." Olivio attributes the isolated political violence in both Luncasi and Deltabor to junta supporters who have gotten into the cities and have used those opportunities to attempt to strike at Kalistanis or southern civilians. "So we are just forcing them to stay outside our lines, and will work with the civilian governments to let those fleeing the conflict in the north through the lines."

Meanwhile, Kalistani regulars who have been added to patrols in Luncasi and Delatabor patrol unarmed, while remaining in contact with specifically designated quick react teams if they end up taking fire. The Quick react teams remain at publicly identified checkpoints and can react to anywhere in either city within five minutes. "The quick react checkpoints are essentially strong points which are designed to be dispatched at need," said Olivio. "They aren't meant to impede traffic or commerce in anyway: Ideally, they would be invisible to the citizens of the town. But in the event that we need to get our units out of tight spots, or if the civilian police need assistance, the Kalistanis can be on the scene in a matter of a couple minutes anywhere in the town. It is part of the goal of maintaining a light footprint in Southern Kizenia, and it meets the requests of the civilian authority."

"We've had nothing but positive interactions with the Kalistanis," said a local Luncasi resident, who merely wanted to be identified as a Kizenian. "We see them all the time in their combat gear, walking through the streets, meeting us and our neighbors, helping where they can. We trust that we can talk to them, ask them questions and they will treat us with respect and dignity. We are happy to call them our guests, and I would even say I'd rather have them here that I would the people who were working with the dictatorship. But as long as the Kalistanis stay, I think we will stay safe. They make the war feel like a million miles away."

Kalistani Regulars will provide security for the upcoming fall elections in both Luncasi and Deltabor which will elect city governments. Most of the current cities' government is expected to remain in place, but Civilian authority thinks it is important to legitimize their administration with elections. "We really don't particularly care whether they have elections or not," said Col Olivio. "Our job is not to come here to establish some sort of democracy. But both City Governments seem to think it is important to hold elections for the various offices, and have asked us to help to ensure that these elections go off without security concerns or violence. So far a lot of people in the towns have expressed desire for elections as well, so we are here to help." Kalistan is also preparing to receive the final shipments of food, medical supplies and war materiel before the window of the season begins closing in late October.

"The war doesn't look anywhere close to over," said Olivio. "But who knows. Maybe Egelion and Trigunia will force the Junta to fall before the Spring season picks back up again. At any rate, we have supply stocks for the entire winter to ensure that if the fighting does continue through the winter, we can keep Egelion supplied until the ports open back up again." Next year, Olivio anticipates that Kalistan will be able to begin deepening the harbor in Luncasi enough to begin receiving larger shipping, a project which has been on and off again for decades, but has now received significant funding from Kalistani investors.

@TheRepublic