Rebel forces fighting for the self-declared Khatun of Taragai, Ebegei Qoriqacha, have taken control of a key communist stronghold and are advancing rapidly towards the former government faction’s capital of Khogne, according to reports.
The rebel forces began advancing southeast from Töv three days ago, and rapidly overwhelmed remnants of the Peoples’ Revolutionary Army. The rebel forces have seized Kharkhorin, the northernmost city controlled by the former government. PRA units began fleeing south to Khogne, the last major city under the control of the former government. Former Internal Security Director Choghagan Khoga had fled there and declared himself the new Chairman of the Central Committee of the TPRP in March. The last units of the Taragaian military and police still loyal to the former government are now pulling back and trying to establish a perimeter around Khogne in the face of the advancing rebel forces. The rebel forces are being backed by units of the Xiomeran military, most notably the Xiomeran International Legion and the Xiomeran Patriot Legion. Xiomeran special forces are also believed to be participating in the operation.
Reports from the front between the rebels and the former government indicate that Khoga’s faction could fall “in a matter of days” given the speed of the rebels’ advance.
The transitional government in Bor-Öndör, which continues to state that it is the only legitimate government in Taragai, has called for the Xiomeran-backed rebels to halt their advance. The government has offered to open negotiations with the rebels supporting Ebegei. No such offer has been extended to the remnants of the former regime under Khoga. “Chaghagan Khoga has committed crimes against humanity. There is no negotiating with or about such a man. He is wanted for his crimes and we will continue to seek his capture,” Interim Chairman Argasun Qorchi told The Messenger. Qorchi said if the rebels do not accept negotiations and attack the portion of Taragai under the transitional government’s control, “we will invite any and every single country that wants to help us stop them to come in and do so.” Qorchi thanked the government of Misumi for its deployment to support his government. “We are grateful to our neighbors for their help in protecting our brand new democracy in Taragai,” the interim Chairman said.
In an apparent bid to boost said democracy and solidify the new government in Bor-Öndör, Qorchi said that Taragai will hold free, multi-party elections in February 2025 “regardless of the state of any insurrections in the country.” Qorchi said that the Taragaian Peoples’ Revolutionary Party, the former ruling party, had negotiated that date with the opposition Democratic Front led by Khadagan Daldurkhan. “We have to keep that commitment to ensure continued cooperation by both sides as we transition to a more open government. We also have to show those seeking to snuff out democracy in Taragai before it is even born that they will not win.”
Huenya calls for volunteers to aid Taragai
President Xiadani gave a speech in Chuaztlapoc today denouncing the Xiomeran support for the rebel faction in Taragai, and calling on Huenyan volunteers to aid the transitional government.
Speaking to a large crowd in the Tlatlahcoyān, the central plaza of the capital’s Green Zone, the President urged Huenyans to join the “1st International Volunteer Brigade” that the country plans to offer Taragai’s transitional government. “We know that ‘Khatun Ebegei’ is just a puppet of the Empire, the same way they propped up people in Auria to be the face for their imperialist schemes,” the President said. “Like Taragai, Huenya has been building a new democracy in the face of Imperial plots and aggression. Like Taragai, we know what it is like to face attempts to destroy that democracy, to steal our land, to oppress our people. But there is one thing Huenyans know that Taragaians may not yet know. We know how to fight the Empire. We know how to beat the Empire. We’ve been doing it since we won our independence. And Huenyans will be more than happy to show Taragai how it’s done,” the President said to applause and cheers. “When democracy and freedom are threatened anywhere, they are threatened everywhere. Huenya has a responsibility to join this fight. While our own Army must remain here at home to protect us from the same kind of Imperial schemes Taragai faces now, there are plenty of Huenyans who know how to fight. Let us join the fight for freedom, and let us continue opposing the Empire wherever it rears its head.”
Spokespeople for Huenya’s Defense Department said that they hope to raise an all-volunteer expeditionary brigade of up to 5,000 troops. The Defense Department said that it will train and arm volunteers who deploy to Taragai, and ensure their deployment where needed.
DTNS reporters at the President’s speech said that recruiters for the “1st International Volunteer Brigade” were present and that they were doing a brisk business talking to, and vetting, potential recruits. “I’m ready to go to Taragai and fight,” Teztōn, one of the potential recruits, told DTNS. Teztōn said that he was currently working as a construction worker, but had previously fought in the Second Xiomeran Civil War on the side of what would become the Huenyan government. “I saw what the Empire does first hand. I helped fight it for our people. If I can do the same for another people, that is an even greater honor.” Teztōn dismissed the possibility of coming to harm fighting in Taragai. “We all die,” he said with a shrug. “If we’re lucky, we’ll have lived a good enough life to ensure we join the sun when we go to the afterlife. Self-sacrifice in a noble cause ensures a good death.”
