Modern Africa- A small campaign (PART1)

Spyros once posed the notion of a game in Modern Africa with our forces.  We'd played Rhodesian Bush war scenarios and fighting in Mali, but he wanted a more involved game. So, after a few sources of inspiration (Force on Force, a few movies like Tears of the Sun and the Wild Geese,  the AK-47 Republic rules as well as countless other stuff!) I came up with a game that was a small campaign using amendments for Modern Bolt Action.

His Royal Highness, Imperial Majesty, The Most Enlightened, Highly Exalted,
Commander -In Chief, Field Marshal General, Commodore Admiral and President of Zogo for Life:
T'mbolo M'shombou

The Background ( All fictitious!!!)

Since independence Zogo ( a very small country tucked away between it’s three larger neighbors : Central African Republic, Sudan and the Democratic republic of Congo) has a troubled and violent history.

History:

   Since independence from Belgium in 1964, the country was ruled by the brutal dictator Aboiye Mshombou; a former sergeant of the Zogo African Rifles  (ZAR). The  ZAR was the key unit that provided the defense of the colony during colonial times. Consisting of 10 infantry battalions, an armoured battalion, an artillery battery and a light air arm, it was mostly recruited from the Mbala tribe.  It was a professional force with white ( Belgian and French) officers.

   After independence, Aboiye Mshombou , a member of the Mbala tribe seized power with the help of many of his fellow tribesmen. Killing any dissenters he ruled with an iron fist for 37 years. He allowed Cuban and Soviet advisors into the country tobring greater benefits to his own tribe and the mining of diamonds, uranium, tantalum and other precious minerals.  The country was never completely settled as the north-east of the country held a small Muslim minority that was keen to secede and create a separate nation ( or join with the majority Muslim nation of Sudan next door) This area of tension has simmered since the 1960s, exploding into violence in the 1970s, 1990s and now with the rise of groups such as Al Qaeda again in the 2000s.

     To the south and south west, other tribes, predominantly Christian and/or animist resented the Mbala tribe’s hold over power and although various resistance movements arose- one that included the use of foreign mercenaries to gain independence in the late 60’s and 70’s, Abioye Mshombou crushed these with Soviet aid.

    After his death in 2001 the country remained fairly stable under the control of his nephew T’mbolo Mshombou until militant Islamic preachers began to enter the north east of the country. The simmering tensions exploded in 2009 and a separatist movement led by Abu Bakr el Humar has been in full swing since then. Without super power backing, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, T’mbolo Mshombou (the nephew) is basically on his own, but looking for support from his neighbors- unlikely at this point. It is rumoured that he has engaged the services of Blackwater inc to train and advise his ZAR.

   To the south west, the majority tribe of the region, the Baako tribe has resented the minority rule of the Mbalas and this too has spread into open conflict. Although poorly organised the Baako control the main diamond and uranium producing areas of the country. It is believed that the leader of the Baako tribal Militias, Beeko Mumfasa , has also engaged private military contractors, with the promise of mining rights in the event of independence.  

One interesting factor is the small number ofwhite settlers in the south west of the country , who were welcomed by Mshombou after the collapse of Rhodesia. Although numbering a few thousand, they have the support of the very small minority tribe, the Shutsu tribe, and they are well armed and organized.