Bier Qassem
29 January, 5404 (Backdated)
With the fall of Bab al-Mira following not too long after Misul, and the death toll continuously rising as ASiB militants seize and "cleanse" village after village of "sin and wickedness." Nearly the entirety of the island lives at the mercy of this terrorist organization, with the last government hold-outs being Abu Yacub, Ras al-Ulima, and Ridazz.
The fighting has mostly stalled, as the forces of ASiB focus on locking down control of their territory and repelling attempted naval invasions aided by the Beiteynese navy. The remaining cities controlled by the government are under heavy siege, with rocket barrages tearing through the city, and air strikes raining down on the rebels. Near Abu Yacub the ground is burned and pocked, and the city is nothing but rubble and jutting carcasses of what were once buildings - apartments, offices, schools. Now, only death and dust remain to mark the memory of this once thriving port city.
The toll of this war cannot be overstated. Religiously motivated massacres, war crimes, near total destruction of entire cities and networks of infrastructure; this will take decades to recover from. Interior Minister al-Jamil has stated the government's first priority right now is taking care of the nearly 8 million refugees in Mu'tasim, announcing that several refugee camp expansion projects had been completed, and that many more were in progress. The total capacity of the network of camps built throughout Mu'tasim is estimated to be 3 million; the planned expansions in progress would bring that number to the still very unsatisfying 4.5 million, or just over half the total amount of refugees.
As the refugee crisis unfolds, there has been a surge in crime in many cities throughout Nashwa - theft by desperate refugees, and the scores of anti-refugee militants who are attacking and killing refugees in cities throughout the nation. The Ministry of the Interior has allocated more nation police officers to attempt to mitigate this crisis, but in Mu'tasim as a whole crime has increased by 112% since last year.
Already refugees have begun assembling tent-cities in desperation for housing. On the outskirts of al-Kamelah stands the so-called al-Madinat al-Saghira (Little City) or Madinat al-Khiam (City of Tents), which is estimated to house roughly 5,000 refugees and spans almost 5 miles by 6 miles in perimeter. The government, concerned by these tent-cities, has issued a declaration that all tent-cities must be disbanded by the end of the year, and the refugees must relocate to refugee camps or homeless shelters in cities.
Refugees have begun protesting this decree, and with the refugees joining the streets with people protesting their verypresence in Mu'tasim, things turned violent quickly. Brawls have broken out in cities across the island, from Dar as-Salam, to al-Kamelah, to Ras el-Haram and Bier Qassem itself. The nation police has intervened to control the fighting, deploying tear gas and non-lethal batons in an attempt to separate the two groups of protestors and pacify the crowd. So far they have had mixed results, with the president saying calling upon the national guard was not out of the question.
