After month of tension between fundamentalists and moderate groups In the UAE, tensions spiralled on March 18, 2010, after an incident causing the death of at least 20 civilians during protests and subsequent riots in the cities of Dubai and Al Ain. In the aftermath of the riots, fundamentalists accuse the ruling Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his loyalists of instigating the riots and causing the death of more than 20 fundamentalist demonstrators.
Within the next 24 hours the situation escalates across the norther part of the emirates. Initial reports of military units failing to report in and outposts going dark emerge after 36 hours. The picture of a possible coup forming emerges and speculations of the involvement of a foreign power, aiding the fundamentalists in their efforts, are being openly discussed.
48 hours after the initial protests what appears to be a coup is well underway with a large part of the UAE armed forces under fundamentalist control. The cities of Al Ain, Al Mafrag and Abu Dhabi are reported to be under siege. Neighbouring Saudi Arabia and Oman observe the development with growing concern and first requests are made for foreign intervention should the situation escalate further.
Hour 72: Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his loyalists flee to Mezaira’a in the Liwa Oasis region in the south of the UAE. Shortly after their escape from Dubai the city and the rest of the norther part of the UAE falls to the fundamentalists. With their numbers spread thin across the norther part of the UAE and pockets of resistance emerging, driven by local police and UAE loyalists, the initial advance of the fundamentalists comes to a first halt.
March 23, 5 days after the start of the crisis: The Arab League and Saudi Arabia are engaging to mediate an end to the crisis.
Reports from northern UAE, satellite and UAV recognizance over the Arabian gulf clearly identify Iranian supply ships and airplanes transitioning the Persian gulf to re-enforce the fundamentalists in norther UAE. The speculations around the involvement of a foreign power are finally confirmed.
March 26, intelligence reports and more in depth reconnaissance analysis suggests the presence of advanced Russian made equipment on some of these supply ships. Western nations condemn the involvement of Russia in the conflict.
March 28, with the confirmation of Russian and Iranian involvement in the coup, western nations, lead by the united states engage in diplomatic discussions to try and bring an end to the crisis.
Reports and videos of executions in Dubai – including those of foreigners – make their way through social media and ignite global outrage over the situation. Foreign diplomats are evacuated from the UAE and foreigners living in the UAE scramble to leave the country by all means necessary.
March 30, videos of a high-ranking Saudi diplomat being beaten and humiliated publicly in Dubai circulate through the internet. The Arab League and Saudi Arabia withdraw from the mediation. Saudi Arabi amasses it’s army along the UAE southern border and official requests for military intervention are dispatched to its allies.
In an unprecedented move and within 24 hours of the official request, the US and its allies are redirecting their assets, including the aircraft carrier CVN-71 Theodore Roosevelt and the Amphibious assault ship LHA-1 Tarawa to the Persian gulf. Resources stationed in Saudi Arabia prepare to transfer to Liwa Airbase near Mezaira’a in UAE.
Fundamentalist forces, calling themselves the “Rightful children of the Gulf”, are consolidating their forces along the Abu Dhabi – Al Ain line north of the oil rich Liwa Region and preparing to move south to secure the oil rich regions of the UAE.
Gentlemen, welcome to Liwa Airbase and Operation Iron Oak.
As you have seen from the sitrep, a group calling themselfes “The Rightful children of the Gulf” are marching south towards our location. The current frontline is demarcated in the following simplified map of the region. Assets on the ground report of regular troops, paratroopers as well as armored vehicles including captured BMP-2 and possibly T-72 MBT. Air defense capabilities at the frontline are currently unknown. A MQ-9 Reaper is assessing the situation and will provide JTAC support.
The current strength and composition of the enemy forces is not entirely clear yet and recognisance is trying their best to establish a better picture. From previous satellite and drone recon as well as intel provided by the UAE on captured assets, the team assumes with a high degree of probability that the areas around Al Ain, Al Maktoum and Al Minhad are well covered by various Russian made SAM batteries including S-300/SA10, Strela/SA-13 and 2K22 Tunguska/SA-19 as well as SA-11 Buk and various AAA fixed and mobile gun installations. Approximate location and ranges are indicated on the map.
Air threats are likely to come from SU-27, SU-30, SU-33, Mig29S, Mig-31, SU-25, SU-25T, SU-34, SU-24M, L-39, Ka-50, Mi-8M, Mi-24 and Mi-28N based at the Al Ain, Al Maktoum, Al Minhad Airbases in the north.
Given the short notice the mobilization and transfer of our assets is still underway and the first squadrons are scheduled to arrive within the next 12-14 hours. We will be operating out of Liwa Airbase, the carrier CVN-71 Theodore Roosevelt and the Amphibious assault ship LHA-1 Tarawa stationed west of Abu Dhabi.
As we have limited assets in the region, your first order of business will be to plan both your ground and air asset deployment.The fact that we are drawing on the combined assets of our allies means you have a wide variety of air and ground vehicles at your disposal. Unfortunately however we have limited airlift and transport capacities at present so the amount of assets which can be transferred is restricted (The limitation is referred to as budget in the planning tool). The situation will likely improve as we cover more ground and with that gain additional transport routes into the region. In addition please note that at present our ground forces are limited to those deployed at Liwa Airbase for basic base defense only. Additional ground units should be prioritized to support our advance and place a fireline between us and the advancing forces of the “Rightful children of the Gulf”.
Following the asset deployment you will be in charge to plan the missions to halt and push back the enemy advance and secure the airbases to the north.
Good luck gentlemen !
Following our successful offensive which resulted in significant ground and air asset losses on the enemy side, we managed to push back the frontline close to Al Ain. Although our SEAD flight managed to destroy one S-300 Search Radar, at least one more search and 2 more tracking radars remain south of Al Ain. With a combination of S-300, Strela-10 and ZSU-23, the site remains a formidable thread and obstacle to the advance of our ground units due the limitations this site places on our air support capabilities.
Intelligence further reports the presence of at least 3 units of SU-33 as well as various ground attack aircraft and helicopters stationed at Al Ain which pose a major thread for our advancing ground units. The situation is further complicated by the lack of mobile AA units on our side and the presence of further air to ground attack assets at Al Maktoum and Al Minhad. On a positive note however intelligence suggests that the enemies CAP capabilities are limited to the 3x SU-33 stationed at Al Ain for now.
Liwa Airbase:
- Mirage 2000 – 1x
- F16C_50 – 3x
- F-15C – 2x
- Ka-50 – 1x
- A-10C II – 2x
Frontline:
- APC M1043 - 1x
- ATGM M1134 Stryker – 5x
- MBT Leopard-2 – 8x
CVN-71 Theodore Roosevelt:
- FA-18C Hornet – 2x
