Zahle Civil War
The Zahle Civil War was a multifaceted armed conflict in Zahle between the Zahelean government and ethnoreligious rebel groups that took place from 1981 to 1999. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 casualties and the end of absolute monarchy in Zahle, beginning the transition to democracy.
The increasing diversity of the Zahlean population played the largest role in the buildup to the civil war. Prior to the turn of the 20th century, Zahle was a majority Arab and Muslim country with a significant Christrian and Pavulturilori minority. The country's rapid industrialization during the 30s and 40s had led to an influx of Creeperian refugees during the Creeperian Civil War, coming to Zahle as laborers. The Zahlean government restricted the re-patriation of these Creeperans after the end of the civil war, leading to increased tensions between the Creeperian community and the government. As the county modernized, the native Arab population grew resistant the Sultan's absolute monarchy and student-led protests against the absolute monarchy began in the 60s and 70s. In 1967, Amini bin Hussein became Sultan following the death of his father Hussein bin Riad. Amini intensified government sponsored crackdowns on protests and formed the Shurta, a secret police force, to deal with the emerging national dissent. In response, ethnoreligious militias began forming throughout the country, further escalating tensions. In 1981, the Zahlean military nearly wiped out the Batroun Militia in a full-scale assault on the Batroun neighborhood of Busra, with Sultan Amini bin Hussein announcing in a speech to the country his intention to end the militias. This announcement sparked the formation of alliances between the militias and various political groups along ethnoreligious lines, creating the war's major factions and beginning the civil war.
The war began with sporadic violence between the Zahlean government and the rebel groups. The intervention of foreign nations quickly escalated the conflict as rebel groups received greater firepower. In 1984, forces from the Free Zahle Movement captured the city of Iaat, the first major settlement in Zahle to fall completely to rebel control. Soon after the Pavulturilori Defense Militia captured the city of Sderot. The war's destructive power on Zahle shifted during 1984 as the Zahlean military rolled back its restrictions on open warfare, resulting in much more destruction and civilian casualties. By the end of 1988, the military had nearly completely re-captured Busra and had re-caputred Iaat. In 1988 Sultan Amini died, giving rise to his eldest son Saad bin Amini. Saad rolled back reconstruction and civilian aid efforts, angering more of the Zahlean population. In addition, Saad also fractured Zahle's relationship with its primary equipment supplier, Creeperopolis. In 1990, Creeperopolis withdrew support completely from the Zahlean government after Saad's lack of retaliation for the 1990 Creeperian embassy bombing and began supporting the Fé Movement (whom they were already covertly supporting).
The loss of its primary equipment supplier dealt a significant blow to the Zahlean military and emboldened rebel groups. Zahle lost much of the countryside as the military retreated to secure the capital city of Busra. As rebel groups secured more of the country, infighting between groups also increased. The fragile truce between the Free Zahle Movement and the Fé Movement broke down and the groups began contesting territory. In 1993, Alwilma launched a series of attacks on the former allied Batroun Militia, breaking down the alliance between Alwilma and the Free Zahle Movement. By 1999, the war had been in a state of gridlock for several years as rebel groups continued to fracture and break-down with infighting. Following the breakdown of truce negotiations in January with the Fé Movement, the Free Zahle Movement announced a new armed campaign against the group. Protests broke out in Free Zahle occupied territory against the campaign. The protest movement spread as thousands of Zahleans protested the war and issued demands for peace. Protests in the capital city of Busra led to the capture of the Commander of Zahlean Army Fahad Mansur and the encirclement of Al Fila Palace] where Saad resided. With pressure from protestors for peace, the Fé and Free Zahle movements issued a general call for truce that was eventually also answered by all other factions in the war. Saad and the rebel groups met for peace talks in the Quebecshirite city of Gaspésie. The talks resulted in the Gaspésie Agreement, where Sultan ceded power to a democratically elected government. Saad agreed to abdicate as part of the deal, with his brother Kaleem bin Amini succeeding him as Sultan. As part of the Gaspésie Agreement, the rebel groups agreed to the Spring Pact, disarming all militias in the country in exchange for proportional representation in government for all major ethnoreligious groups.
The Gaspésie Agreement was widely celebrated in Zahle, but resisted by groups such as the Revolutionary Front, Alwilma and the Creeperian Front. Additional negotiations resulted in the transitory government conceding guarantee seats from the aforementioned groups in the country's first election as part of their agreement to the Spring Pact. On August 12, 1999, the Gaspésie Agreement was officially signed in Busra by all major rebel leaders and Saad, who abdicated later that same day.
