Just as Barron and Nigel Inkster expected.
After entering January 2004, Kolo's situation took a sharp turn for the worse...
As the anti-government forces were blocked between the plateau area and the central area, under the sudden intensification of artillery bombardment by the government forces, the Kolo government air force also joined in this counterattack. Their only three helicopters and one bomber also launched fire attacks on the anti-government forces.
And Togo's most elite Nassin Brigade, equipped with armored vehicles and light tanks, became the main force of this counterattack.
Because of the smooth progress before, the anti-government forces were completely unprepared and were directly disrupted by this obviously long-planned counterattack.
This counterattack also caused the greatest losses to the anti-government forces since the Kolo civil war. According to rough statistics, the anti-government forces suffered more than 1,000 casualties.
Everyone should be aware of the fighting power of the black guys. The anti-government armed forces plus the armed personnel that were added later had a total of less than 4,000 people, and there were 1,000 casualties, a ratio of one-quarter, which directly caused a large-scale rout.
On the other side, the momentum was strong and the continuous pursuit, the Free Kolo Alliance who faced the enemy head-on, had less than 500 people who were able to retreat to the area they controlled in the Kara District... The rest were either captured or fled to an unknown place.
The Kolo Resistance Army is not much better off. Their armed forces participating in this civil war are now less than 1,000 people.
That is the Kolo Liberation Front located on the east bank of the Mono River. What they encountered was not the main force of the government army. There were about 1,500 armed men led by Sheikh Hassan. After they occupied the territory on the east bank of the Mono River in the central area and replenished their personnel, they had nearly 1,400 people. This time they lost only more than 300 people, and the remaining forces became the largest among the anti-government armed forces.
But Sheikh Hassan probably didn't think so, because during their "strategic transfer", they encountered two air force fighters...
Although the model was old, it was still one of Kolo's few air forces. One of the ground-to-ground missiles hit the military vehicle that Sheikh Hassan was riding in... Well, it was not a Toyota pickup truck, but an armored vehicle they had seized in the central area - but this armored vehicle was indeed conspicuous among the Toyota pickup trucks - Sheikh Hassan died on the spot.
This type of missile is indeed expensive for the government forces, so they are reluctant to waste it. Therefore, after a round of attacks, the air force withdrew.
But this also had a great deterrent effect on the black brothers of the Kolo Liberation Front, causing them to have 200 fewer people when they returned to the grassland area...
According to the information from the Munger Base, these people might have been dispersed when they passed through the Free Kolo Alliance-controlled area and couldn't help but want to help the locals "save" some property...
Fortunately, there are not many armed personnel left in the Free Kolo Alliance, otherwise the losses would be even greater.
Under the current circumstances, the number of armed personnel of the Kolo Liberation Front is less than 1,500, and it can be said that they are of mixed quality.
The Protector Military Company has nearly 1,000 personnel, including 700 elite soldiers - even those local black soldiers can be considered elite compared with the armed personnel of the Kolo Liberation Front. They have become an important force in the Kolo Liberation Front's territory in this grassland area.
The current situation in Kolo is that after achieving previous victories, the government forces have driven the anti-government forces out of the central region, but they did not stop there. Instead, they once again advanced into the battlefield and launched a counterattack towards the "traditional sphere of influence" of the anti-government forces.
As for the anti-government armed forces, as mentioned before, the territories of the Free Kolo Alliance and the Kolo Resistance Army are adjacent to the central region. On the contrary, the Kolo Liberation Front is behind the two, which is equivalent to having two "meat shields".
Given the current situation of the Free Kolo Alliance and the Kolo Resistance Army, they do not have the confidence to withstand the attack of the government forces alone. At this time, they have sent out envoys, hoping that the Kolo Liberation Front can send troops to help them resist together. Otherwise, once they retreat, the remaining Kolo Liberation Front will definitely be destroyed by the government forces.
Now the Protector Military Company has two choices. The first is to continue to remain neutral.
Although the Protector Military Company had previously cooperated with the Kolo Liberation Front and helped them train soldiers, which caused dissatisfaction among the government forces, after all, the Protector Military Company was a British private military company, and it was not difficult for them to withdraw from this conflict unscathed.
But the problem is that the two mines they currently have were obtained from the Kolo Liberation Front through the sale of arms.
If the government forces come and occupy these places, will they still recognize the ownership of the two mines by the West African Mining Company? I guess it would not be too optimistic.
Another option is to continue to help the Kolo Liberation Front withstand the attack of the government forces, or even go a step further and...
You know, in Africa, it is not without precedent that Western private military companies have launched coups and taken control of a country.
With the strength of the Protector Military Company, not to mention defeating the government forces of Kolo on the front battlefield, it is not impossible to overthrow Kolo, which is currently ruled by Nasin Dema, through some strategies or even launching a surprise attack.
After all, if you have learned about the history of some African countries, you will know that, let alone a small country like Kolo, many large countries that are several times, or even dozens or hundreds of times larger, have experienced coups that seem like a piece of cake.
It is very likely that a coup launched by a few people, or dozens, or at most one or two hundred people, could actually succeed!
For example, Libya, this "African power" with a land area much larger than Egypt and rich oil resources, can be said to be fully qualified to become a "rich country" in Africa.
What was the process of the coup d'état launched by Colonel Kadiz?
Gaddafi originally planned the coup to take place in 1969. At that time, Gaddafi and his followers felt that the organization had been developing for some time and it was time to teach the king a lesson.
They hoped to revolt on March 21, but the plan was quickly abandoned because Egyptian singer Umm Kulshom came to Benghazi, Libya to give a concert.
Well, postponing the originally planned coup d'état because of a concert sounds a bit ridiculous, but if you see the process of his coup d'état later, you will feel that it is not too outrageous.
I won't go into details, but to put it simply, Colonel Ka postponed the "rebellion" twice for various reasons.
Finally, in September, the coup began.
To put it simply, the process of the coup was that the two groups of people he had previously arranged to coordinate the coup all ran into problems and failed to proceed in a timely manner.
The troops he led also got separated on the way to occupy the Benghazi radio station.
Finally, he was the only one left. He entered the radio station without any obstruction from the guards and announced his rebellion on the radio...
The most outrageous thing about this coup was that it was successful. When the capital was in chaos, his men actually took control of the place, and finally Colonel Ka successfully came to power.
Such a frivolous "coup" process is not unique in Africa, but can be said to be very common.
Therefore, if the Protector Military Company wants to do the same, even under less optimistic expectations, the success rate is not low.
Of course, for the sake of "international impression", it is impossible for them to do such things in public. They must "help" Colo's own people to gain liberation.
After all, although Kolo is small in area and not prominent in the whole of Africa, it is a formal member of the UN and a traditional "ally" of France. Things cannot be done too ugly.