[Mohoender]

This region of the world includes two big countries: Egypt and Sudan.

Sudan for its part has been in turmoil for a long time when the world’s situation starts to degenerate. It has been, in fact, fighting a bitter civil over the south since 1983. There, the government of Khartoum is opposed by the SPLA (Sudanese People’s Liberation Army) a numerous rebel group (50.000 combatants) that scores a number of victories all along the 1990’s, gradually pushing back governmental forces. Until 1992, however, these governmental forces conduct numerous raids in the Nubian region of the south, taking an estimated 200.000 people into slavery. Despite this, after 1993, several peace initiatives are pursued by Sudan’s neighbors but they all ultimately fail and fighting continues.

In 1998, elements of the SPLA even threaten to take the city of Wad Medani but this offensive fails and the front stabilizes to the south of that city. In a desperate need for victory and space, Khartoum’s administration diverts part of its forces from the front and launches what it believes will be an easy campaign, attacking pastoral tribes in the Darfur region. It is soon faced by Janjaweed Militias and evidence of war crimes is brought up to the world attention before the beginning of the Twilight War. Nevertheless, the war prevents any intervention from the UN and that conflict continues to these days, resulting in huge casualties, essentially from famine and epidemics. Eventually, casualties reach 60% of the pre-war population, leaving only about 15.800.000h in the entire country.

Today, Sudan is effectively divided in three with:
- Around 200.000 Fur in Darfur.*
- About 1 million Beja to to the North.*
- 7.1 million Arabs in Khartoum, on the Nile Valley and in the East to the coast.*
- 7.5 million Nubians to the South.*

The main government and the only one to receive full international recognition before the war is the As Sûdân which controls, Khartoum, the Nile Valley to the Egyptian border, the Gebel Abyad to the West, the Nubian desert to the coast with Port Sudan and the Blue Nile area. Despite having the most numerous and well organized military force, this state is facing increasing difficulties. The civil war prevents the exploitation of oil fields to the South, the EMP attack of 1995 fries the entire hydroelectric power system and the Twilight War effectively isolates Sudan. As a result, if the air force still maintains a few aircrafts, fuel reserves are very low. Similarly, the Army uses only its armored units in case of emergencies. Mobility is still provided by the replacement of fuel by alcohol (brewed from sugarcane) and oil (got mainly from peanuts) but reserves are insufficient for large scale operations. In order to gain additional mobility, the Army forms several mounted units (camels or horses) that are either independent or integrated to the regular brigades. In addition, while the Army is reduced to 31.400 men, the “Janjaweed” Militia is expanded to 14.000 men and sent in equal number to the West and to the South.

To the West the situation has become dramatic as no village remains intact and as cattle was decimated. Population has dropped to only 200.000 and these survivors are living under terrible conditions while rebellious movements continue to fight state forces, allowing for no rest to the area.

The situation to the South is better and the Republic of Nubia has been established in 2001. However, that state didn’t get international recognition outside of Africa and the government can’t do much for the populations which are mostly left alone, constantly threaten by marauding bands and armed groups coming from neighboring states. As a matter of fact, the government rules only over a few cities (The capital of Malakal, Juba, Nyala and Wau) and over the combat area located to the north, on the border with As Sûdân. The SPLA can still rely on about 30.000 dedicated fighters but these are mostly equipped with light weapons and, so far, they failed to break the state’s army line.

Fighting continues in Sudan while resources are all becoming scarce and the situation shows no sign of improvement at short term. In addition, the Sudanese Navy has lost all its motor patrol boat and the coasts are constantly the prey of pirates. Patrols are still conducted with sail boats but these sailors, when not involved with pirates can’t do much outside of a few miles around Port Sudan and its well defended fortifications.

* There are 200 ethnic groups in Sudan. Therefore, Fur stands for indigenous pastoral people of Darfur. Beja stands for nomadic Arabs from the North. Arabs are mostly Muslim city dwellers and Nubians are people of African decent in the South.

Egypt is experiencing a very different situation, finding itself among the most heavily destroyed countries on Earth. As for Sudan, the situation starts to deteriorate long before the war as the 1990’s see a growth of pro-Islamic groups within Egypt. The country doesn’t fall to civil war but terrorism increases to a point where weekly attacks are conducted at several targets: Copt’s interests, tourists, citizens trading with the West and state administrations. That puts a heavy weight on the Egyptian economy and, if not for the war, the country could have slipped slowly toward internal confrontation. Moreover, this threat results in Egypt experiencing a dramatic economical crisis as its income from tourism drops by 80%.

Then, the army is put onto full alert at least a year before the Twilight War and when the conflict occurs, Egypt is left with one thing to do: choose among the two sides involved. Faithful to its previous treaties, the government supports the Allies from the beginning, producing military goods and sending troops as soon as war reaches the Middle East. As a matter of fact, while much of the army and the National Guard remain at home, Cairo’s government assembles an expeditionary corps and sends it to Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

In 2003, when Matapan II occurs off the Greek coast, the Egyptian navy represents a substantial part of the Task Force with six frigates and 2 submarines involved. One of the subs is destroyed while the only frigate to leave the area intact to return to Alexandria is the “Dumyat”. Another one, the Descubierta-class “Al Nasser” had left the battle after only 24 hours because of extensive damages. She also made it to Alexandria but damages were so important that she sunk while towed to dry-dock. A few weeks before, the Egyptian corps had fought with bravery, holding the ground while greatly outnumbered, preventing the annihilation of a full Ally corps in the process.

When the Warsaw Pact starts to use strategic nuclear weapons, the depth of Egyptian involvement has not gone unnoticed and, while Israel is spared, that country is heavily targeted. In fact, when the nukes start to fall, Egyptian major cities (Alexandria, Aswân, Cairo, Damietta, El Falyûm, El Mensûra and El Minya) are all hit while multiple strikes effectively destroy the Suez Canal (along with Port Saïd and Suez), isolating the Mediterranean from the Red Sea again. Casualties immediately reach 80% and all state administrations are effectively destroyed, leaving the survivors with no immediate help to come and no hope that it will come ever soon. The Islamic movements are among the only one still capable of some reaction and, whenever they can, collaborating with Copt churches, they engage in local relief operations.

Two days later, the Aswân Dam breaks suddenly and explodes under the water pressure. A gigantic wave (100m high) is formed while more than 200 billions m3 of water runs down the stream of the Nile River at a starting speed of 140km/h. Half an hour later, the wave wipes out the city of Idfu and Luxor is destroyed only an hour later. Two hours after the dam’s destruction, it is the turn of the city of Qena but, at this point, the Nile Rive makes two important turns and the flood starts to slow down. When the wave hits Sohâg it is now only 70m high but it still runs at 100km/h while it has been reduced to 50m high and runs at 80km/h when it reaches Asyût. From then, the flood enters a larger valley, loses much of its power, and when it reaches El Minya, the wave is only 15m high and runs at 40km/h (Minya’s destruction occurs seven hours after the dam’s explosion). Nevertheless, the flood continues its path to El Falyûm and Cairo. When it reaches the ravaged Egyptian capital city, 12 hours after the event at Aswân, the wave is still 7m high and the flood runs at 30km/h. From there, it dispersed in the entire Nile Delta, reaching the Mediterranean after a course of 16 hours and suddenly resulting in the water rising by 3m high almost everywhere. On its path, the water has destroyed a huge amount of arable lands, all cities and almost all villages. Under normal circumstances, many people could have been saved but when that occurred, the country had been hit very hard. Legal authorities are gone, military units are scattered and have lost contact with any type of commanding structures. As a result, people had been left where they were and they are taken care off on the spots. A few refugees have been moved to tents encampments but most are still in their damaged houses. When, the events is finally over, 85% of the survivors are killed and Egypt is ruined.**

As word, of this catastrophe comes to the Egyptian troops fighting in Jordan, left with no place to turn back to, most Egyptian soldiers take an oath to the King of Jordan and chose to continue the fight. Nowadays, they are still there, part in the conflict but established in cantonments. It seems that Egypt will never heal its wounds and the country is left with only 1.370.000 inhabitants (a little under 2% of its prewar population). Only two coastal cities survive on the Red Sea (Al Quseir and Bur Safâga) and they are heavily engaged in piracy, the core of their pirate fleets being 2 Hainan-class patrol craft and a single Osa-class patrol craft. An additional ship, a T-43 minesweeper, is docked at Bur Safâga and provides limited power supply to the city. Two other coastal cities had survived some times on the Mediterranean (Marsa Matrûh and Sidi Barrani) but more exposed than their Red Sea counterparts they fell to raiders and are now deserted and in ruins. However, the five great oasis of Egypt (Al Bahariya Ad Dakhla, El Kharga, Farafra and Siwa) are still occupied and fairly populated, reverting to their traditional role of trading outposts along commercial routes going from Sirte (Libya) to Khartoum. In addition, survivors (many Copts among them) have now settled along the Nile Valley, building small fortified villages and learning to live with that river again .Finally, some nomadic people are also living in Egypt with Beja tribes in the South, small Berber groups around the oasis of Siwa and members of the al-Rashayda tribe (Bedouin) on the Western Desert and in the Sinai. Of course, these people are living a very simple life as the country fell back to some kind of Middle-ages.

** If you want to know what a breaking dam can do, you can refer to the events at Malpasset, in France (4 million m3 killing 453) or at the Vajont in Italy (260 million m3 killing 2000 and destroying 5 towns and villages). Keep in mind that the Aswân event is 1000 time more important than that last exemple.