[Mohoender]

The region has always experienced turmoil and instabilities of all kinds and of course that didn’t stop with the Twilight War. Civil unrest and local conflicts occurred everywhere while the region is hosting one of the most dangerous countries in the world (Somalia), second only to the Central African Region and to the Indian sub-continent.

Surprising enough the relatively new Republic of Eritrea did survive the war and, despite being involved in conflicts with Ethiopia and Sudan, remains functional. First, this is achieved through the full collaboration existing between Tigray to the north and Afar to the south. Second, instrumental to this survival, you find the Warsai Wikalo Program that started several state sponsored civil projects before the war. Then, with the drying up of foreign money and the end of trade the government of Eritrea had to modify this program, replacing money by more had work on the side of people. As a result, while every male and female above high school age is free to do private business, they are all entitled to achieve several turn of public duties every year (military, construction projects, health care, teaching and agricultural work). Third, Eritrea benefits from rough landscapes that are highly favorable to the defenders. Last, the government which was coming from guerrillas quickly modified the army structure, getting rid of complex equipments and developing several small and simple ammunition plants. Nevertheless, Eritrea remains or was involved in several conflicts, including a small exchange with NATO. That conflict was short, almost one sided and has its roots in the complicated relations between Eritrea and the USA. Faced with US administration hostility and in need of foreign support, the government of Asmara turned to Russia before the war, opening the Massawa harbor facilities to Soviet military shipping again. Of course, by the time US and its allies got involved in the Middle East, soviet ship at Massawa were long gone or destroyed but in the eyes of the US command this still represented a threat. Soon, Eritrea’s ports and airfields were subjected to air strikes that destroyed the main three coastal cities (Assan, Massawa and Tio) and grounded the air force. Two other conflicts are, however, seeing extended ground operations and bring instability to the border regions. The first one opposes Eritrea to Sudan and has its roots in a dispute that started soon after independence when the new Eritrean government accused Khartoum of fueling terrorist movements within its borders. Not long before the war the two countries started negotiations with help from Qatar to solve that issue but this came to an end as the Twilight War built up. Finally, fighting started for good between Eritrean militias (mostly Tigre) and scattered bands of Sudanese marauders, bringing chaos to the western border as far down as the cities of Âkurdet and Nak’fa. The most important and the older of these conflicts is of course that opposing Eritrea to Ethiopia. This came to an end after independence but it was revived as the Twilight War started and Ethiopian incursions are still common on the former border with Ethiopia. Relations with Djibouti, however, have improved lately and the FBU is slowly filling the vacuum left by the termination of relations with Russia.

Somalia was and still is a powder keg and the withdrawing of UN missions didn’t improve the situation. The country is still in the hands of several warlords and fighting and massacres are common sight. The population has been reduced in dramatic proportions, food is scarce, but Kalashnikov and ammunitions are found at every corner of every market. In addition, piracy was developed in a tremendous way and Somali pirates are now operating all over the northern Indian Ocean, representing a threat to every ship sailing out of the Persian Gulf or the southern Arabic Coast.

Ethiopia fell also to ethnic and civil unrests but followed a very unusual path as the country had been divided among ethnic regions prior to the Twilight War. As a result warlords rule over the different regions but, constantly fighting among each other, have created an insecurity that plague the entire country. In addition, Ethiopia had to face a long lasting drought and food supplies remain mostly insufficient, resulting in the death of many more people among the population and in more fighting among warlords. Three of the ethnic regions (Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambela and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region), characterized by the absence of a truly dominating ethnic group, are plagued by brutal and continuous ethnic conflicts. A fourth one (Somali) is also facing a full scale civil war but, this time, it has spread from Somalia and the Ethiopian region slowly and fully integrated the Somali civil war. Then, the two ethnic regions bordering Eritrea (Tigray and Afar) are also experiencing severe fighting resulting from the continuous tensions that plague their relation with Eritrea. This is fueled by the desire of their local warlords to control Eritrean wealth. Therefore, these warlords regularly send raiding party to Eritrea but these have been successfully repelled and Asmara is now conducting retaliatory actions deep behind their borders. The largest region (Oromia) is also fairly stable and powerful, including the two chartered cities (Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa) and their functional but limited industries. Mostly counting as organized under the leadership of the Oromo Liberation Front, that region is facing some insurgencies, nevertheless, and part of its territory is disputed. The last ethnic region of Ethiopia (Amhara) is the most stable and the only one to fully feed its population. The Amhara region is ruled by more than a mere warlord as the local Negus resides in the capital city of Bahir Dar, the last large town in the area, located on Lake Tana at the starting point of the Blue Nile. With the chaos and the numerous deaths that marked the dissolution of the Ethiopian state, the largely Orthodox Christian’s population of Amhara left the cities to take refuge in the mountain villages. This move was encouraged by the Negus who issued an order that created a people’s militia resembling that of Eritrea.

Djibouti, the last country in the Horn of Africa, is also the only one to be fully organized; only facing a few incursions by marauders from the Afar region and Somalia. The city has become the sole commercial port in the area and the main link between Oromia and the sea. As a result, desert patrols are important and camels are again the main means of transportation departing daily to bring supplies all over the Horn of Africa. Placed under the full protection of France, early in the war, the country houses a much expended French garrison, an important air base and part of the French Fleet in the Indian Ocean. Moreover, local troops are often placed under French command.