CHERNOGORSK, Chernarus (AAN) — The crisis in South Zagoria escalates as Alaxander Baranov is killed by separatists.
The rebellion in the Zagoria region of Chernarus today entered a new level of severity as Prime Minister Alexander Baranov and several members of his New Deal Party cabinet were executed. Militia claiming to be members of the ‘Chernarussian Movement of the Red Star’ (ChDKZ), the NDP’s former political opposition, have claimed responsibility.
The ChDKZ party is considered defunct by most western governments following it’s abolition two years ago. Although the Russian Federation does still officially recognize the party, it has refused bilateral talks aimed at reunification with Chernarus in the past.
Last night large numbers of separatists, reportedly under the direct command of former ChDKZ leader Andrej Lopotev, entered the regional capital of Chernogorsk where government forces were unable to prevent the capture of Prime Minister Baranov, Chancellor Novotny and an unconfirmed number of new Deal Party officials. A video showing subsequent executions – which was released online but has since been removed – has been seen by AAN.
The Chernarussian Defence Forces have immediately launched a counter offensive, retaking parts of the region but Chernagorsk and much of the region’s Green Sea coastline is still under ChDKZ control this morning.
The Chernarussian ambassador released a bitter statement in which he claimed “Last night’s flashpoint was the inevitable consequence of NATO indifference to the escalating rebellion in Chernarus. Two years of growing insurrection and our largely ignored requests for military aid have resulted in the deaths of great men. Soon perhaps a great nation will die also.” Many observers have long argued that the thinly-stretched Chernarussian Defence Forces and limited NATO presence in the north eastern provinces of Chernarus were not enough to contain, let alone eradicate, the country’s growing insurrection.
The isolated region has seen constant small scale conflict since the fall of the Soviet Union. Regular skirmishes between nationalist guerrillas and ethnic Russian ‘home-defence militias’ or ‘sotnyas’ have plagued the more remote parts of the country for the best part of a decade. Until it’s forced dissolution two years ago the ChDKZ openly backed these ‘sotnyas’ while the government did little to stop nationalist attacks on ethnic Russian settlers. In 2007 the unrest peaked when the ChDKZ party was outlawed, resulting in a brief civil war. Last month’s crisis, which saw the resurgence of ChDKZ-backed sotnyas, may have been the beginning of a new full blown war. The assassination of Prime Minister Baranov has created a power vacuum, heightening that risk.