Yulai - The Amarr Empire has confirmed that the recent appearance of Imperial Navy flotillas in key border systems with the Minmatar Republic are a response to the Republic Fleet taskforces sent to the Auga, Isbrabata and Vard systems.
Coming from a meeting of the Privy Council to the standing emergency session of the Inner Circle in Yulai, Captain Marshal Sirdan xer Qosh said:
"The Amarr Empire will defend its sovereign space with all the might at our disposal and with the force of law and God's will on our side. Her Sublime Imperial Majesty Catiz I has instructed the Imperial Navy to patrol the Ezzara, Kourmonen and Kurniainen systems in order to secure the border with the territories occupied by the Minmatar Republic under the Yulai Accords."
The Imperial Delegate to the Inner Circle went on to detail developments in the Empire following the chemical weapons attacks and subsequent slave revolts on five Amarr planets:
"Her Sublime Imperial Majesty's Privy Council has received full reports from the civil and military authorities of each affected planet. The attacks against Mabnen I and Sehmy III were appalling but order was swiftly and professionally restored by local forces. Serious disorder broke out on Dakba IV but order has also been restored there with the intervention of the Ministry of Internal Order and Theology Council. Again, this was done professionally and with minimal loss of life.
"As is well-known, the attacks on Alkabsi IV and Thebeka III were more serious and evidently aimed at provoking serious violence among the large slave populations of those worlds. It is true that in this aim the attacks on these two planets succeeded. However, rapid action by the forces of House Sarum and House Ardishapur, together with the support of the Ministry of Internal Order, Theology Council, Order of St. Tetrimon and loyal vassals, has restored order in most localities.
"The cities of Alkabsi IV are at peace, again with minimal loss of life. The ongoing rebellion in the southern continent of the planet has been reduced to a low-intensity insurgency following successful, and unfortunately necessary, assaults on the Kaba Hills mineworks, a tunnel complex that harbored some several thousand rebel troops. I wish to place on record holographic evidence of the exceedingly well-fortified and well-armed rebel strongholds in those tunnels.
"There is also news from Thebeka III, where the situation remains grave. The city of Dabara is the scene of open rebellion and has been placed under interdict by House Ardishapur. Happily, it can be reported that Lord Khalil Numayr has been recovered by special forces of the 7th Ardishapur Kameiras. The fact that Lord Numayr was kept from harm by the Numayr household slaves and his own personal Kameira guards has weighed heavily in determining the fate of Dabara. By order of Lord Ardishapur the city will be retaken. The example we shall make is that the loyal will not be abandoned. The heretics and the traitors will not force our hands.
"We expect the retaking of Dabara will take some time. Given the wise forbearance of the Lords Ardishapur and Sarum, upheld by Her Sublime Imperial Majesty, all should condemn the continued interference in our sovereign internal affairs by the Gallente Federation and, most especially, the Minmatar Republic. It has not gone unnoticed by us that the rebels were armed and ready for this sequence of events. We also have tracked many of the so-called Republic Justice Department's infiltration vessels across Amarr space and most particularly in Alkabsi and Thebeka. These attempts to destabilize the Empire must cease. We have acted with forebearance but also with necessity. We would expect nothing less from others should rebellion arise in their territory."
Gallente Federation delegate Devan Malate branded Captain Marshal xer Qosh's remarks as "repugnant excuse-making for brutal assaults on civilian populations and a grotesque attempt to shift the blame for the standing violence that is slavery onto the enslaved." The Gallente Federation is maintaining a sanctions regime against the Empire, Khanid Kingdom and many key Amarr officials and corporate entities.
In response to the accusations of infiltration, Minmatar Republic delegate Keitan Yun declared, "There is as much truth in the accusations of Justice Department rescue and survival enhancement missions taking place as there is in the never-ending testimony as to Amarr slave-taking being carried out under flags of convenience every day!" Challenged on his meaning, Ambassador Yun replied that his words could be taken "any way the Amarr Empire wishes to take them for they know the truth of the matter very well indeed!"
Varied operations in space continue on the part of Imperial and Republic forces across the border zones and, it would appear, in the Amarr systems of Alkabsi and Thebeka. Loyalist and allegedly rebel-supporting capsuleer forces have also been engaged in combat over the stricken worlds, with frequent skirmishes and several attacks on capsuleer structures taking place. The security situation in the Amarr Empire has also been confused by three ongoing Sansha's Nation incursions into imperial territory, with one at the Bleak Lands border with Metropolis. There are reports that both Amarr and Minmatar fleets have clashed with Sansha's Nation units.