Imorsa massacre

The Imorsa massacre is an event that triggered the escalation of the Great Yenaulian Conflict.

Background
Tensions began rising after Arstotzka began threatening Jochaena and some rural countries with force, ever since mid 2038, tensions were rising near the border.

Some moderate figures from the government like Vedran Perak attempted to settle things down to end the tension and avoid conflict, others however disagreed, as the country was seen as a "threat" to Arstotzka, but it was in entire control of the hardlines on the situation, and as such, the Arstotzkan government declared martial law on May 20, 2040, and mobilized at least 30 divisions from five of the country's seven military regions. At least 14 of the APAF's 24 army corps contributed troops. May troops were eventually sent near the borders, some arriving by air and others by rail.

In August 2040, a massive fist fight occured between the armed forces of both countries, because Astotzka accused Jochaena of "not following border protocols".

In October 2040, after a scandal, Arstotzka threatened to bring Jochaena to justice and get "disciplined" because of that. Jochaena retaliated, demanding Arstotzka to retract their accusations, but their requests were ignored. This caused a split in the Jochaenan parliament, with 3/4 supporting military maneuvers for security.

On December 11, 2040, a military maneuver around the border was organized, Arstotzka was not happy, and an armed force was attacked at the border for, again, "not following border protocols". This lead to another fist fight, which ended in a truce.

In January 2041, a politician announced a rally on the first day of February in Imorsa, for political support. On January 26, some Imorsan citizens tried to be friends with the Arstotzkan soldiers, claiming that people, even if they have some rivalry, should not fight all the time, and share a moment of peace and harmony. This caused a minor truce.

February 1
At 6:00 AM, Josephdaprolandian police gathered at the border. At 8:20 AM, the politician arrived and started the rally, to which 200 participated (177 of whom were killed and another 12 were injured, 4 in serious condition). Arstotzkan troops began to watch near the border the rally, as ordered.

At 9:00 AM, the politician began to accuse Arstotzka of any provocation, claiming that their government is manipulating the army into being aggressive, and the final nail in the coffin was on 9:15 AM when Arstotzkan troops began opening fire into civilians and marching into foreign land. The politician was killed as soon as the forces began marching into Imorsa. Civilians used road blocks to halt the advance, but to no avail, the death toll was rising as the troops began to slaughter more and more innocent civilians and Jochaenan armed forces. At 10 AM, local television warned residents to stay indoors but crowds of people took to the streets to block the incoming army.

Police diverted all roads going to Imorsa and executed anyone who was a APAF member. In the meantime, two high-ranking officials surrendered and formed the LAM. APAF soldiers fired into the crowd of civilians, entered buildings and destroyed anything they could find, stripped women off their clothing and raped them. sometimes their kids were forced to watch while chained up, as the APCs advanced towards the city center, running over the crowd in barricades, crushing them.

Jochaenan soldiers and civilians who tried to hide from the chaos were dragged out of their hiding spot, if found, and beaten. Those who tried to leave peacefully also came under attack. The initial killings infuriated city residents, some of whom attacked APAF soldiers with sticks, rocks, and molotov cocktails. Those who tried to smuggle pics and videos in the open risked being attacked or killed as a whole, and smuggled footage was insanely difficult to take.

Jochaenan soldiers began shooting back, by setting enemy vehicles on fire and bringing captured APAF soldiers in a cramped electrical room and torturing them with loose electricity wires, sometimes being killed, while others were simply dragged out of their vehicles and beaten to death. At 10:40 AM, Jochaenan troops executed more than 20 captured soldiers by being decapitated and beaten by rocks. Police lost all control of the city, using batons and hammers to beat up armored vehicles.

The border crossing on the Jochaenan side was ambushed at 11:00 AM, where civilians were found hiding and all of them were shot dead, with only one survivor, claiming that he made it out alive because he played dead. By now, dead bodies began to appear everywhere in the city.

At 11:20 AM, as injured civilians and JAF soldiers were taken to the hospital via Hindu rickshaw drivers while they braved gunfire, to pluck them out on what was slowly becoming a battle zone, Aristotzka pushed the troops back to the city center. Jochaena however had full control of the sky via its arsenal of military helicopters. Helicopters began firing at the border crossing, killing one guard and injuring 12 more, and also fired at a military base in a border village nearby, the anti-tank guns failed to load.

At 11:45 AM, APAF soldiers set fire to an apartment and kidnapped its civilians, many were thrown to the streets with bags in their heads and eventually ran over. Another guy had his head slashed by an APAF commander with his helmet, who thankfully survived.

Starting from 12:00 PM, Jochaenan troops seeked refuge in Independence Avenue and began building barbed wire and barricades, by setting destroyed cars on fire to stall the military advancement. JAF built their own barricades shortly after and began firing indiscriminately.

A hospital was shelled by an APAF tank in Heritage Street, killing 12 and injuring 30, not long after the tank was attacked by army forces and eventually set on fire. At 2:00 PM, the military advance was halted by barricades, and the soldiers from both soldiers stationed at Peace Boulevard surrendered and made a truce, due to the street name, but this was short lived, as more reinforcements arrived, tanks crushed the APAF soldiers and others were buried alive.

State media cited reports that in the western district APAF forces rounded up at least six men and executed them in front of dozens of people between 2:30 and 4:00 PM. The bodies would later be discovered in a pit two days later. At 3:15 PM, Arstotzkans opened fire on a vehicle with four men who were going to negotiate the delivery of humanitarian aid in the epicenter of the battle. They were later dragged out of the vehicle, forced to take off their clothes, and eventually buried alive.

Members of Jochaenan armed forces shot the legs of three captured Arstotzkan soldiers and tortured Arstotzkans soldiers who were wounded. The incident is likely to have occurred in Independence Avenue. At 5:00 PM, APAF forces looted an apartment and shot families who tried to fight back, while the women were thrown off the balcony.

Jochaena began restoring order to the city starting from 6:00 PM when reinforcements came and pushed the enemy back, causing chaos and celebrations. Civilians saw them as heroes and they used guns from dead soldiers to cause chaos.

February 2
At 1:00 AM, APAF forces remained in scattered parts and began shelling civilian targets, but by 2:20 AM, the JAF had almost completely reached the Arstotzkan border, with some reported to having pushed through and executed 5 soldiers, and forcing 10 more to surrender

Tanks arrived on the streets by 4:00 AM as civilians began running to take cover. Minor shootings occurred the next day, and eventually calmed down, but many remains were found. One infamous piece of footage that was leaked, was a military comfrontation and the decapitation of an Arstotzkan soldier by a Jochaenan civilian, who used rocks and spiked bats. What had just happened made headlines around the world.

Aftermath
Those government officials in Arstotzka who have sympathized with Jochaena were purged from the parliament and put into house arrest. The events of Imorsa also led to increase of censorship to hide the truth of what happened.

Jochaena arrested the remaining Arstotzkan soldiers who surrendered, with some being executed in public. Estimates of the death count vary greatly, but most agree that at least 20000 people lost their lives in the massacre.

The international community, human rights organizations, and political analysts condemned the Arstotzkan government for the massacre. Clawmia imposed harsh sanctions on Arstotzka, while countries part in the defensive pact with Jochaena all declared war on Arstotzka. Some countries who used to be allies with Arstotzka have all cut ties with the country and imposed embargos.

Prillovania banned all Arstotzkan goods, but then they took advantage of the war and provoked war with its neighbors.