National Liberation Alliance

Biodata

History

Attack on Nijia

On December 6, the Alliance launched a surprise artillery attack on Nijia, a city bordering government- and rebel-controlled territory in Vidal State. Its fighters entered the urban area while the government lost contact with the nearby Vidal Brigade 17.

Sankara initially considered whether the Alliance had destroyed the seven-thousand-strong brigade, but judged that explanation unlikely once Nijia’s much smaller police force continued resisting. Survivors later accused Keluofu of selling out the brigade to the Alliance; Second Lieutenant Krov helped several hundred soldiers escape and subsequently returned with them to defend the city 18 19 23.

The Alliance cut Nijia’s outside telephone lines and progressively pushed its defenders back to Nijia Public Hospital. Despite possessing superior numbers and heavy weapons, it failed to overcome the police and returning soldiers for twenty-eight hours 21 22 23 26.

Air Strikes and Mercenary Intervention

During the final assault on the hospital, Alliance officers forced their fighters to take large quantities of heroin to suppress their fear. Several died from overdoses, while others charged without using cover. The attackers breached the hospital’s last defensive line shortly before government aircraft arrived 23.

Government bombing and strafing shattered the militants’ morale and forced them out of the hospital. Some retreating fighters shot officers who attempted to stop them. The Alliance’s chief was taken completely by surprise, having received French assurances that Sankara possessed little heavy equipment 24.

The Aksang Brigade initially exploited the retreat, but the Alliance stabilized its lines, counterattacked, and recovered much of eastern Nijia. French mercenaries were responsible for this sudden improvement. Katelai assessed that they had originally been held back for a decisive intervention but were committed early because the police resistance and arrival of reinforcements threatened the offensive 25 26.

Attrition and Withdrawal

The fighting settled into a costly struggle against the Aksang, Drago, Ailidun, and Duojialong Brigades. On December 10, more than 27,000 Central Army troops arrived in western Nijia. The Ministry of National Defense subsequently rotated battalion- and company-sized units through less intense sectors to give its recruits combat experience 25 33 44.

The Alliance eventually withdrew across the entire Nijia front, allowing government forces to recover the territory it had occupied. Burkina’s commanders initially attributed the retreat to unsustainable casualties without knowing who had ordered it 45 46.

French intelligence later established that the mercenaries had killed Alliance leaders who opposed withdrawal and then led the surviving forces out of the fighting. Their mutiny contradicted the intentions of the French bureau backing the organization 48.

Mercenary Takeover

After retreating to Li Bal, the mercenaries controlled all remaining Alliance armed forces. Fearing punishment from the North African Strategic Intelligence Bureau if they returned to France, they debated establishing themselves as permanent rulers of the captured territory 50.

Their one-eyed leader proposed paying the men, bringing over their families, and earning eight to ten million North African francs apiece annually from the territory. These were plans rather than established revenues. The discussion was interrupted by news that Burkina’s government forces had attacked 50.

Sankara had ordered the four local brigades to advance into Alliance territory both to recover lost ground and to keep those semi-independent forces from rebuilding their strength. The commanders accepted the orders despite recognizing that the campaign would weaken them 48 49.

Military Strength

Forces and Equipment

The force attacking Nijia initially numbered more than six thousand militants, supported by heavy weapons 22.

Combat Performance

• Field combat experience — The Ministry of National Defense assessed that the Alliance was accustomed to fighting in the field but unfamiliar with Nijia’s streets, unlike the city’s police 22.
• Uneven motivation — Katelai contrasted the defenders’ commitment to protecting their families with militants expecting rewards and opportunities to abuse the captured city 22.
• Mercenary effectiveness — French personnel restored the Alliance’s lines after the air attack and enabled it to push back government-aligned brigades 25 26.
• Vulnerability to air power — Many militants had never seen fighters or bombers before. Bombing caused panic that threats and executions by their officers could not contain 24.
• Coercive command methods — Officers threatened to kill men who stopped advancing and used forced heroin consumption during the hospital assault 23.

Reported Losses

French intelligence reported the following daily averages over the final days before withdrawal. The mercenary figures were reported separately; the passage does not clarify whether they were included in the broader Alliance totals 48.

Territory and Treatment of Civilians

• Li Bal — The headquarters city had declined from nearly 700,000 residents to fewer than 100,000 under the Alliance’s brutal rule. Starving civilians occupied its decaying streets while the mercenary leadership met in a luxurious estate with gardens and fountains 50.
• Reputation for atrocities — Nijia’s veteran police officers warned that surrender could mean torture, beheading, sexual enslavement, and cannibalistic violence. Their knowledge of the Alliance was a central reason they urged resistance rather than surrender 17.
• Earlier militancy — Katelai described the organization’s original generation as willing to carry out suicide attacks for their “God,” but believed those militants had aged during roughly twenty years of relative peace 22.

Relationships

• France’s North African Strategic Intelligence Bureau — Foreign backer that sent mercenaries to support the Alliance. Its director was blindsided when those mercenaries killed the leadership and withdrew 47 48.
• French mercenaries — Initially military support personnel, then the organization’s effective rulers after overthrowing its senior leadership 26 48 50.
• Ahro Sankara and the Republic of Burkina — Principal government opponents. Sankara organized Nijia’s relief and later ordered an offensive into Alliance territory 18 48.
• Alain Kanel — Identified in a government newspaper as an Alliance backer who planned a terrorist attack in Dugagu to influence the frontline fighting. The plot was foiled, and Kanel was executed after trial 44.
• United Anti-Government Armed Forces — A separate French-backed coalition attacking Bugani. It continued its offensive after the Alliance withdrew from Nijia 46 47.
• Vidal Brigade — A longstanding opposing force whose soldiers were described as deeply hostile to the Alliance. Survivors accused Keluofu of betraying their brigade to it 18 19.