Op Noble Desert 02 - 2025/04/19

Situation

The establishment of our Forward Operating Base at Airfield Marwey has provided a crucial foothold in southwestern Kambala, enabling more comprehensive intelligence gathering on Sons of Bala (SoB) operations and their possible collusion with the Kambalan Armed Forces (KAF). Our raid on Chunguliski yielded intelligence when UK forces intercepted a KAF officer attempting to depart the family property of General Sefu Okoro. The officer was killed during the engagement after resisting apprehension, preventing immediate interrogation.

KAF officials have publicly distanced themselves from the deceased officer, characterising him as a corrupt individual acting independently. SIGINT intercepts, however, indicate frantic encrypted communications between senior KAF leadership in the region following the incident. Intelligence analysts assess with high confidence that these communications represent a coordinated effort to contain potential exposure of the possible relationship between KAF elements and SoB. The rapid disavowal of the officer appears to be a calculated attempt to preserve a broader network of collaborators while sacrificing a compromised asset.

Concurrent with these developments, SoB forces have been probing a KAF outpost for what is likely and upcoming substantial attack against it. While superficially appearing as part of ongoing insurgent activities, the timing and targeting suggest a direct response to the disrupted meeting at Chunguliski. Intelligence assessment indicates this attack likely serves multiple purposes: retaliation for the failed meeting, demonstration of force to maintain leverage in negotiations with corrupted KAF elements, and disruption of KAF operations to limit their capabilities in the area.

The KAF outpost requesting support contains a vehicle depot. This depot presents an opportunity for a intelligence operation - discreetly placing trackers on KAF vehicles to map movement patterns and identify potential rendezvous with SoB elements. Intelligence assessment suggests the chaos of the current attack and subsequent recovery operations will provide optimal conditions for covert placement of these tracking devices while assisting KAF. 

President Mugambe's administration continues to publicly maintain a unified front with UK forces while privately expressing concern about the implications of the intercepted KAF officer. Intelligence sources within the presidential security detail report increasing scrutiny of communications between regional KAF command and central government officials. This suggests the administration may be conducting its own internal investigation to identify compromised elements, though their motivation remains unclear - whether to eliminate corruption or to contain potential exposure of sanctioned activities.

Acknowledgements

• Refer to the situation report for detailed information on known factions and identification.
• Kambalan Armed Forces personnel operating in this region shall be treated as allied forces, despite intelligence suggesting corruption amongst senior officers, UK forces must refrain from offensive action against KAF personnel unless fired upon.
• Civilian population are neutral to our activities, though it is likely a small amount support the Sons of Bala.

Commanders intent

Current intent for the following operation is to provide tactical support to the Kambala Armed Forces (KAF) in defending their nearby outpost while simultaneously conducting intelligence gathering on the outposts officers, along with disruption operations against the Sons of Bala.

Map - Overview | High Resolution

Area of Operations - Alpha 

Tasking(s)

40 Commando

• [OBJ Roadrunner] Dismantle and disrupt the SoB build up preparing to attack the KAF outpost
• [OBJ Armadillo] Help defend the KAF outpost from the incoming SoB attack
  
• [OBJ Armadillo - Secondary] Plant tracking devices on vehicle within the outpost

2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment

• [OBJ Roadrunner] Dismantle and disrupt the SoB build up preparing to attack the KAF outpost
  
• [OBJ Armadillo] Help defend the KAF outpost from the incoming SoB attack

Royal Tank Regiment

• [OBJ Roadrunner] Assist 40Cdo and 2PARA in clearing the area
• [OBJ Armadillo] Help defend the KAF outpost

Joint Aviation Command

• [OBJ Roadrunner] Transport 40Cdo and 2PARA into the AO and support with CAS and ISTAR
• [OBJ Armadillo] Help identify threats to the KAF outpost

Markings - AO Alpha