21 April, 2018
It has been just over two weeks since the April Congress ended, after which several rebel groups in the Northwest responded with aggressive attacks on defensive positions near the city of Sishi, as well as other cities across the region. While tensions are high, the general view in the Sizhouan government is that the situation will come under control, and that the working people of the Northwestern region will be safe once again. However, complications have occurred over this time that have induced a deal of concern in some.
Even in areas of the Sizhouan Northwest which experience militant disruptions by local rebels, such as arson and economic disruptions on a somewhat regular basis, it is exceedingly rare for direct assaults on city garrisons. This all changed two weeks ago, when militia forces were called into action in several cities along the Northwestern highlands. Utilizing newly passed laws, local and provincial governments swiftly moved in to defend settlements while reinforcements were assembled to their locations. As situations stabilized over the course of the last weeks, and amid a temporary travel ban, the advance of rebel forces came to a standstill.
As of this Monday, however, activities have again picked up as the region has experienced on of the most eventful days in recent years. Excitement began in Sishi earlier this week as Chairman of the Worker's Party of Sizhou Mei Zhe'shan arrived in the city. Zhe'shan, effectively the ideological leader of Sizhou, visited both to inspect local management of the situation and to boast morale if possible. Most of the week proceeded rather smoothly; events began on Monday, with Zhe'shan holding a rally in the city praising its and the Sizhouan People's Army's efforts. After the rally, the Chairman was scheduled to remain in the city for the remainder of the week to carry out her duties, however as it would turn out things would turn more chaotic as the week progressed, reaching its violent climax this Friday evening. The events of the evening were preceded by small victories, in which the Sizhouan People's Army found itself pushing militants back in several areas. It should be noted that, these battles very often being fought by Sizhouan military and militia in their own home cities, a great deal of caution is being taken ejecting the rebel forces. Regardless, circumstances seemed to improve as in some cases the rebels appeared to be in as much as a full retreat. "It was suspicious," stated one general, "Or superior forces had several skirmishes with the rebels over the week, holding them in place, but without any significant confrontations over the past few days. Then Thursday night, we found that they had simply vanished."
At roughly 6pm Friday night, witnesses began reporting hearing gunfire from within Sishi. Militias within the city, most of which were not stationed at the site of the incident at the time, were at once organized into position. Within the hour the Sizhouan military determined that rebel forces has secured themselves within a few primarily industrial blocks of Sishi, centered around a rail yard. Having encircled ground zero of the rail yard attack in a somewhat timely manner, local officials claim the attack has been contained to that area. Meanwhile, the local government as well as Mei Zhe'shan who was still stationed in the city have secured themselves in the city capital for the time being. Making matters worse, however, the concerns of some in the military have been confirmed as the attack was almost certainly orchestrated with nearby groups. Sizhouan People's Army forces which were suddenly required to pull back and reinforce the railyard have found rebel lines, now reinforced from the soldiers who retreated from attacks the previous morning, have advanced much closer to the sity. This has signalled the Sizhouan government to commit significantly more effort to the area, as they hope to prevent further entry into Sishi long enough to run out the attackers within the Sishi. It is unknown at the time how many of the attackers are currently in the city.
As of Saturday morning, an immediate investigation has been ordered as to how any why rebels were able to attack from within the city, and whether they were aided by any connections from or between where transports over the last few days originated. If discovered, such saboteurs are likely to face among the harshest punishment in the Sizhouan legal system.