Thursday, October 8, 1998 11:00 hours
Bamako, Mali, Toloria
In the capital city, there was an air of excitement. As the saying goes, a new era was upon them. One that promised freedom from corruption. One that allowed rule by people. One that exemplified true freedom.
Days earlier, Muraty Khalfani, the general of the military, stormed the last loyalist-controlled territory of the country and captured the sitting president and other members of the current government. With this, the civil war that had lasted the past three years had ended. Prior to the civil war, Bamako and other cities grew disgruntled with the current establishment. Discontentment turned into protests and, eventually, full-out rebellion. Much to their delight, Muraty Khalfani publicly accused the sitting government officials of corruption and treason, citing that they had not been loyal to their public offices. Khalfani attempted to rally the people to create a revolution.
Now placing himself in direct opposition of the government, all parts of the country had a choice to make. Join the revolution or resist the rebels. The government declared Khalfani a terrorist and proclaimed that all that joined him would also be classified as terrorists. Despite this threat, three-fifths of the country's military joined Khalfani in his uprising. Those in the military whom remained loyal to the government were thought to have been enough to hold off Khalfani and his followers. However, incompetent leadership and misfortune plagued the loyalist group. Three-fourths of cities and towns sided with Khalfani and his revolutionaries. They became rowdy and unruly, openly opposing the occupying loyalists. Brutal crackdowns followed, only increasing the support for Khalfani.
Within a year and a half of Khalfani declaring himself an enemy of the state, he had marched through, and conquered all of Mali. Multiple times he was close to catching President Koba Bussare and his Cabinet, but they managed to slip from his grasp, and they eventually fled into Mali. However, Khalfani had successfully captured most of the Tolorian Congress. A handful of them had publicly declared their support for him, but he had all the captured congressmen imprisoned under military guard.
In Mauritania, President Bussare pleaded with the Mauritian government for refuge for him and his family. With firm control of Mali, Khalfani felt emboldened. He made a proclamation to Mauritania that they must hand over all members of the Malian presidential administration or face invasion. Being a weak, fragmented state itself, Mauritania did not wish to go to war. They apprehended all the members of the administration and extradited them back to Mali, but they did not extradite the president and his family. Khalfani saw this as a refusal of the ultimatum. Seeing a unified force behind him and support of the people, Khalfani invaded Mauritania. Within a year, Khalfani was outside of the capital, Nouakchott. After a month of bitter fighting, Mauritanian forces surrendered, and Khalfani walked straight through the capital to the capitol building, in which he found the current Mauritanian government holed up, as well as his prize, President Bussare and his family.
Now, Mali and Mauritania were both flying under the Tolorian flag. Khalfani garnered some support from his conquered populace by pandering to their African roots, saying they were all "African at heart."
Present day, Bamako, a city which wholeheartedly supported Khalfani, was ecstatic. There was a bustle around the city that was rather rare. Men and women gathered in the public areas, hugging and laughing. One would think that it was a celebration.
In a junkyard, a group of boys huddled around the radio that they had grabbed while digging through garbage. The voice of the newscaster rang out:
"For those who missed the earlier report, General Khalfani has defeated all Mauritanian forces and has apprehended former President Bussare. Mauritanian forces have surrendered after a month of fighting. They allowed Khalfani to walk right down the streets. With the surrender of Mauritania and the capture of President Bussare, a new era has come for our country of Toloria."
"They surrendered? Khalfani marched right down the streets untouched?" one of the boys asked.
"Doesn't surprise me. Khalfani walks on the side of God," another boy said, "Those that form against him have no chance of beating him."
"Or he's just a military genius," another boy added.
One of the boys sat back and listened to all the others rejoice over the conquests of Khalfani. He would speak up, but he knows his opinion would be dismissed hastily. "Everyone has an agenda," he thought, "what's his? He isn't a man that is about goodwill for all. What's he planning?"
Nonetheless, he returned from his thoughts and rejoined the conversation with the others. The topics ranged from current events, to the future of the country, to where their next meal was coming from. Their excitement reflected the attitudes of others around the city. Happiness to emerge from the past into a bright future.
What they did not realize, perhaps from being prisoners of the moment, was that there was no longer anyone as the official leader of the country. After conquering territories, Khalfani and his men arranged plans with local leaders to govern until leaders could be democratically elected. Now that the fighting was over, elections would be held. But little did they realize how great Khalfani's ambitions were, and how far he was willing to go to hold on to power.