TIR Reports: U.S. Forces Arrive in Turkmenistan - 13AUG2022

[SPC N. White]

The International Report
August 13th, 2022

U.S. Forces Arrive in Turkmenistan

MARY, TURKMENISTAN - US troops have begun to arrive in Turkmenistan as part of an ongoing peacekeeping and humanitarian effort amid concerns of further destabilisation in the region. The arrival of American forces, who will reportedly assist with UN peacekeeping commitments, comes a matter of days after Turkmenistan and its government have completely collapsed.

Earlier this year, the country held what it claimed to be fair and free elections to choose a new president. However, several countries across Asia and the West condemned the elections as "evidently rigged." Shortly after, reports began to pour out of the capital of widespread election violence between the local citizenry and government troops. In response to these riots, the Murtazayev regime declared martial law within the Central Asian nation.

Following the declaration of martial law, multiple countries began the evacuation of key personnel in their embassies in Turkmenistan. Violence continued to grip the capital and country as a whole with reports of the Turkmen armed forces breaking into sects and fighting amongst each other. Exact information has been extremely difficult to verify, and efforts have been compounded by martial law as well as intentional internet and cell outages. Most, if not all footage of the events in Turkmenistan has come from mobile phones and tablets smuggled out by citizens and journalists that have fled the country in the ensuing weeks.

"On July 3rd 2022, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2637, condemning the overall failure of the Turkmen state to observe basic human rights as well as establishing the US-led 'UNOTURM' (United Nations Operation in Turkmenistan) to begin security operations and shipments of aid. The UNOTURM is aimed at ensuring stability, peacekeeping, and most critically--humanitarian efforts within the country of Turkmenistan as a result of internal strife experienced over the last several weeks. Hundreds, if not thousands, have been killed as a result of authoritarian crackdowns by the Murtazayev regime, and many more across the country have been disproportionately affected by the withholding of critical food supplies--a quietly-excluded result of the declared state of martial law at the end of May."

One week following the announcement of UN intervention, a live broadcast of two senior members of the proclaimed New World Turkmenia Youth Party confirmed that a revolution against the incumbent Murtazayev regime had taken place. These individuals, who have claimed responsibility for the assassination of many former leaders who refused to support the uprising, are confirmed to have installed both military and civilian leaders loyal to their vision. Purportedly, this process began with the veiled assassination of former Turkmen president Usmon Murtazayev mere weeks after he handed the regime to his son. The NWT also denounced any planned peacekeeping missions or "Western interventions," maintaining that hostile actions would be taken against interlopers. The limited Turkmen military forces who remained loyal to elements of the previous regime, or at least acting in direct opposition to the NWT revolution, have mostly withdrawn towards the Caspian Sea and away from the capital of Ashgabat. Their current disposition, or if they even remain a player in local events, is altogether unknown.

Coordinating with the UNOTURM, US forces have reportedly taken the lead on peacekeeping and stability operations in several areas throughout central Turkmenistan in spite of logistical and manning shortfalls resulting from tensions plaguing nations in the region. Some locals are praising U.S. forces via social media outlets, while others are claiming this is only “western imperialism” in its latest form.




Photos courtesy of United States Department of Defense

After the first ten days of operations across the country, UN and US coalition forces have reported that the situation on the ground has deteriorated far below that which was previously imagined. Some community leaders and self-proclaimed revolutionaries have formed militia groups in their respective communities, armed with a massive array of small arms and other military weapons. Reports are also surfacing regarding the use of US armoured vehicles such as the fearsome M1 Abrams main battle tank by local militants and the New World Revolutionary Corps, or NWRC. It remains unknown exactly how the Turkmen military came into possession of modern American tanks, but some experts believe this is the result of hardware exported from other Middle Eastern countries to which the US has previously sold arms legitimately. As well, the possibility of illegal proliferation between those countries and nations such as Turkmenistan has been speculated upon openly by prominent members of the defence industry.

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Reviewed By: WO1 Juan Reynoso, SGT Neil White

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