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Chapter 118 The Muddy Pool
Chapter 118 The Muddy Pool
The Libyan army's offensive has received widespread support from the residents of the Tibesti Mountains.
The main inhabitants of the Tibesti Mountains are the Berbers, who share the same ancestry as the Berbers in Libya.
The remaining Tub, Wadai, and Bajirmi ethnic groups are also of Arab descent.
These four ethnic groups make up more than 45% of Chad's total population.
The Zakawa people, to whom Chad President Debi belongs, have a total population of only 1.2, accounting for less than 1% of Chad's total population.
This is why Déby had to rely on French support to maintain his rule in the country.
With less than 1% of the population ruling the country, the Chad government ruthlessly divided the nation's 1300 million people into 256 ethnic groups and imposed repressive rule on the large Arab population.
After the Libyan army recaptured the Tibesti Mountains, the Libyan government funded efforts to improve the living conditions of local residents. This included hiring East Asian companies to dig wells for the locals and using solar photovoltaic panels, finally bringing the area into the electricity era.
This is not a deliberate suppression by the Chad government.
It's heartbreaking to think that even in the 21st century, Chad's electricity coverage is only 3%, and the national installed capacity is a mere 110 kilowatts.
The megawatts are almost all concentrated in the capital, N'Djamena, but the actual generating capacity is less than 50%, leaving most cities and rural areas without electricity.
Chad's economy is primarily based on livestock farming. Due to overgrazing, vegetation destruction is severe, with forest cover declining by 0.6% annually.
The rate of recovery decreases, and restoration mainly relies on natural regeneration.
The vegetation destruction in the Tibesti region is particularly severe, and it has been completely transformed into a desert or semi-desert area. Traditional nomadic lifestyles are no longer sustainable, and the people are suffering terribly.
Similar to Libya, the Libyan government is funding efforts to restore vegetation in the Tibesti region, change the lifestyles of local people, and improve their income structure through tree planting and other means.
The Tibesti region has a pretty good foundation. Although the soil has degraded into desert and semi-desert areas, with continued investment, the possibility of ecological restoration is extremely high.
High-grade uranium and chromite deposits have been discovered in the northern Tibesti region, as well as manganese deposits, which have great development potential.
Unfortunately, like in Guinea, Tibesti's mines are controlled by multinational corporations, and the profits are divided between these corporations and the Chad government. Arabs living in Tibesti not only cannot improve their lives through mining income, but are also forced into labor, imprisoned, beaten, and even killed by these multinational corporations.
After the Libyan army recaptured Tibesti, it not only rescued thousands of enslaved workers from mines controlled by multinational corporations, but also discovered the bodies of nearly a thousand miners who had been tortured to death.
The Libyan government took decisive action, expelling the multinational corporation after securing evidence, reclaiming the mines, and organizing victims to file international lawsuits against the corporation.
With this series of measures, the Libyan government not only gained the gratitude of the residents of the Tibesti region.
Locals even formed militias to cooperate with the Libyan army and launch attacks against Chad's forces.
On February 10th, coinciding with the Lunar New Year, the Libyan government released evidence of crimes committed by multinational corporations in the Tibesti region, while also extending New Year greetings to the Chinese community in Libya.
With the arrival of a large number of Chinese family members working in Libya, the total number of Chinese in Libya has exceeded 20.
The Libyan government has no taboos. During Christmas, they wish Libyan Christians a Merry Christmas. During Eid al-Adha, they slaughter livestock to commemorate the Prophet. When it comes to Chinese New Year, Yuri even put up Spring Festival couplets on the gate of his official residence.
Qin Rui's family not only put up Spring Festival couplets, but also hung red lanterns. They made dumplings with Qin Liang and Wang Qin, and watched the Spring Festival Gala.
After Mia learned about the significance of the Spring Festival, her emotions changed noticeably. She silently walked to the balcony, looked in the direction of Zawiye, and remained silent.
Qin Rui came to Mia's side and stayed by her side silently.
Mia pulled Qin Rui's arm up, squeezed in, and then, not satisfied, moved closer to him and nestled in his arms.
Influenced by Marina, Mia's style of dress is becoming more and more mature and feminine.
The weather has been lovely these past few days. Mia was wearing beige pencil pants and a loose-fitting sweater of the same color. She was restless in Qin Rui's arms, rubbing against him from side to side. Suddenly, she froze as if she had been struck by acupuncture, her cheeks flushed.
With tremendous willpower, Qin Rui tried to pull his arm away from Mia's front.
"Brother Tiger, I'm 18 years old now."
Mia clung to her tightly, refusing to let her go, whimpering like a kitten.
Mia grew a year older on her birthday, a year older on New Year's Day, and a year older again during the Spring Festival.
Reasonable.
"No, you're only 16."
Qin Rui tried to force himself to calm down, but not only did he fail, his anger only grew stronger.
"I was already born when my mother was 16."
Mia was unhappy, because according to Libyan tradition, 16 years old is already considered marriageable age.
Let alone 16 years old, in some remote rural areas, there are many brides who are even younger.
Before Qin Rui could figure out how to answer, Wang Qin came over with Qin Rui's phone.
Just now, French troops deployed Rafale fighter jets to bomb a Guinean army camp, killing more than 20 people.
Kamara decided to send a commando team to raid the French military headquarters in Mali, Bamako International Airport.
Qin Rui did not stop him.
From bombing transport convoys to now directly bombing Guinean military camps.
If Kamara does not retaliate, not only will the army suffer heavy losses, but the opposition will also make a comeback.
The French government will not back down unless it inflicts a heavy blow on the French army.
Following the French airstrike on a Guinean government convoy, the Guinean government exercised restraint and did not retaliate against Mali.
The French army certainly did not expect that the Guinean army would operate deep into Mali.
Bamako International Airport is located in the capital of Mali, about 110 kilometers from Guinea.
French military aircraft took off from Bamako International Airport, with their operational range covering the entire territory of Guinea.
In light of the potential consequences of the surprise attack on French forces, the Libyan government convened an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.
"An attack on Bamako International Airport could lead to direct French military involvement in the war, posing a significant risk of total loss of control."
Saddam Hussein did not approve of attacking the airport, but she couldn't think of a better solution.
"If the French army were to directly participate in the war, it could abandon the coastal areas and retreat inland to continue fighting."
Musa wanted the war to escalate, the bigger the better, ideally involving all the neighboring countries and uprooting France's influence in West Africa.
"Once the French blockade the coastline, the Guinean government forces will be isolated and helpless."
Yuri worried that the Guinean government forces would be unable to hold out alone.
"We can provide supplies to the Guinean government through our businesses in Guinea."
Musa was not worried about logistics.
Although modern warfare is increasingly reliant on logistics, there are different strategies for fighting depending on whether one is rich or poor.
Guinea is mountainous and densely forested, with a complex environment.
If the French army wants to defeat the Guinean government forces in the shortest possible time, it would have to deploy more than 20 troops to Guinea.
This is almost impossible to do in France today.
As a loyal follower of the United States, the French military actively participated in the wars launched by the United States and Western countries in recent years. The downfall of Sarkozy was largely related to the frequent deployment of French troops to participate in overseas operations.
If the French army suffers heavy losses in Guinea, not only will Hollande's approval rating be severely affected, but Marc Ayrault will also have to step down.
Once Qin Rui made up his mind, he no longer hesitated and sent four fully-leveled companies to Guinea, completely dragging France into the quagmire of war.
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