Newly re-elected Gallente President Souro Foiritan has just issued a press release stating his intention to send an aid convoy to Kassigainen IV to assist with what the release terms “a major – and growing – humanitarian crisis.” The release states that the convoy is meant as “a gesture of goodwill, and a hopeful step towards better relations with our neighbors.”
Only a few minutes after the announcement, the Caldari State’s Chief Executive Panel released a statement indicating the situation is “under internal review,” and strongly urging the Federation to stay out of Kassigainen until proper clearance has been granted. The CEP has since yesterday repeatedly referred to the incident as a “minor revolt by political insurgents,” in what many analysts are calling an effort to downplay the humanitarian crisis angle.
The ice planet of Kassigainen IV, site of Kaalakiota mining colony Truiisu Station, has since yesterday morning played host to steadily escalating violence among its 1700-odd inhabitants. The causes for the fighting are widely disputed, and detailed information on transpiring events are hard to come by, though unconfirmed reports of atrocities against the worker population have consistently arisen over the past 24 hours, including instances of workers being hunted down and murdered in front of their families.
The death toll is at this time believed to have risen above two hundred and fifty people.