1697 Fatehpur and Manbai attacks

The 1697 Fatehpur and Manbai attacks were a series of terrorist attacks carried out in Çakaristan. Immediately after the attacks, suspicions were raised that the Seishi rebels were involved in the attacks.

Attacks

In the morning, the first attack took place. A rocket was fired from the roof of an apartment building at a military building of the Manbai City Barracks. The building was a temporary ammunition storage, which immediately exploded during the shelling. The explosion caused a large fireball over the city.

That same morning, a meeting of high-ranking military about the situation in Jingdao was taking place in the Apollonian Oriental Hotel when the news of the shelling and explosion at the City Barracks came in. There was video contact with Agra, where the Sultan, the Grand Vizier, the Minister of Defence and General of the First Expeditionary Corps appeared. Then suddenly there was an explosion in the main conference room of the hotel. Within minutes of each other, three bombs exploded in the hotel. In the main conference room, the lobby and in one of the lifts.

In the port of Fatehpur, where the news of the events in Manbai were shown on screens, a bomb exploded in the large port building. Just before that, a ferry from St. Anna had arrived, making the hall of the main port building crowded. While the emergency services rushed to the rescue, a second bomb exploded on the forecourt.

Suspicions

Because of the good organisation, timing and means used, the attacks could not have been carried out by a makeshift terrorist group. Because the rocket attack on the Manbai City Barracks was carried out with a rocket launcher from Jingdao, it was thought to be in that direction. The bombs on the Apollonian Oriental Hotel, where a military meeting was held to discuss the situation in Jingdao, also reinforced this line of thinking. An hour after the last bomb in Fatehpur, the authorities announced that the attacks had been carried out by the Seishi rebels. Some camera pictures from just before the bombs exploded at the Apollonian Oriental Hotel were shown, showing suspected Seishi rebels.

Visit of the Sultan

In the days following the attacks, the Sultan and Sultana visited the two cities. They visited hospitals where wounded were lying and visited the places of the attacks. In a speech, the Sultan said: "I have ordered the government to investigate the attacks. Besides the question of who is responsible, there are questions about our internal security, how we could have prevented this and what the next steps will be."

The journalists wanted to know from the Sultan if he also thinks the Seishi rebels are responsible, but the Sultan did not respond. Nor did he answer the question about what his reaction is to the vote of thanks by the Congress of Chryste.

Investigation

The Çakari government launched an investigation, which was to lead to the perpetrators of the attack. Within a month, the investigation committee came up with the preliminary results. It emerged that one of the perpetrators had left his passport in the hotel room where he stayed at the Apollonian Oriental Hotel. Telephone records also showed that there had been contact with a phone number in Nuhai. Farewell letters from the suspected perpetrators were also found. The chairman of the commission said: "From these preliminary results, it is clear that there is a connection with the Seishi rebels, who are in revolt against the Jingdaoese Emperor".

These preliminary results have been criticised because the professional attacks were apparently carried out by clumsy perpetrators.

Aftermath

Army recruitment offices across the country were overwhelmed with volunteers for military service. In addition, protests took place in many major cities calling on the government to take action. That same evening, the Grand Vizier gave a taped TV speech. In it, the Grand Vizier tried to calm tempers, saying that the Xinshi Emperor had expressed her condolences to the Sultan and assured him that the Imperial Government had no involvement in the attacks. She also announced three days of national mourning.

Tempers were not sufficiently calmed, as was evident from the large protest march in Agra. In the Majlis al-Sultina there were calls for military intervention. Much to the Grand Vizier's displeasure, this call was supported by the majority. She then offered the resignation of her entire government to the Sultan. The Sultan did not accept the resignation, but appointed General Farrah as Supreme Commander for the military actions to protect the Xinshi Emperor.

The Sultan announced in a TV speech that the Çakari Armed Forces have started preparations for military intervention in Seishi controlled area. The Xinshi Emperor has granted permission for this, which has also given the operation its name: "Nae jeevan kee raksha". This name means "Protecting the New life" (Xinshi means New Life). See Operation: Nae jeevan kee raksha.

International responses

•  Batavia: The King and the Government express their horror at the attacks and express their condolences to the families of the victims. Assistance is offered to Çakaristan to find the perpetrators.
• / Congress of Chryse: Delegates issued a vote of thanks to the "Sons of Liberty", praising the as of yet unidentified assailants who had struck a blow against the USSO in "Occupied Antica-Krasnocoria".