A Forked Road: Zuhlgan Expands Control Amid Uprising, Economic Realignment in Mitallduk
Ta’ana, Mitallduk— Zuhlgan’s push into mainland Mitallduk has entered a new and volatile chapter, as both military and economic maneuvers face escalating backlash across occupied territories. While Zuhlgani authorities press forward with resource extraction and commercial integration, local resistance is intensifying— transforming what many once called a “slow annexation” into a combustible standoff with regional implications.
Over the past two weeks, construction crews under Zuhlgani state contractors have broken ground on a high-capacity gas compression station near the eastern Mitallduk village of Naraté, reinforcing earlier speculation that the annexed coastal corridor is being rapidly transformed into a long-term energy export hub. Additional satellite imagery released by the Cordilian Monitoring Coalition confirms the deployment of prefabricated housing units for Zuhlgani workers and the erection of armored checkpoints along critical access roads.
Locals report that several fishing communities in the expanded “Protectorate Development Zone” have now been formally evicted under what Zuhlgani officials are calling, “transitional relocation orders.” Eyewitnesses say evictions have accelerated since the beginning of April, often enforced by masked paramilitaries without prior notice or compensation.
“They give you two hours, then the bulldozers come,” said Arah Méntula, a teacher from the coastal hamlet of Telaruun, now sheltering at a crowded inland schoolhouse. “We’ve lost our homes, our boats, and our food. And they say it’s for ‘regional stability.’”
As anger deepens, armed resistance groups once thought defunct have begun to re-emerge with surprising coordination. The Takaran Defense Front (TDF), whose resurgence was first signaled by leaflets in February, has now taken credit for a series of sabotage operations targeting Zuhlgani construction convoys and relay stations.
In a video statement circulated online, masked TDF fighters claimed responsibility for, “liberating ancestral land from foreign profiteers.” The group pledged to disrupt all resource extraction activities in the protectorate zone and warned of “permanent action” against collaborators.
Even more unexpectedly, elements of the rival Free Takaran Army (FTA)— long estranged from the TDF— have issued a joint communiqué calling for, “total national mobilization.” Analysts suggest the collaboration may signal the emergence of a broader nationalist coalition seeking to undermine both Zuhlgani encroachment and the deeply unpopular TPA-PV military government in Ta’ana.
Inside Krauanagaz, the government remains split between diplomatic restraint and military necessity. Intelligence officials have confirmed that Zuhlgani surveillance drones have entered airspace over the former DMZ between Mitallduk and Krauanagaz multiple times in April, prompting limited mobilization of air defense assets. However, no public declaration of intent has been issued, and high-ranking officials continue to seek mediation through the World Forum (WF), despite mounting domestic criticism.
“We are watching our influence and our allies be dismantled in real time,” said Senator Tharíen Dulvak of the opposition Lórnáida Sentro (LS). “The government’s paralysis is indistinguishable from surrender.”
In contrast, internal government memos leaked to The Scope suggest the Renkara administration is quietly expanding arms shipments to vetted Mitalldukish militias and considering covert logistics support for TDF-affiliated resistance cells.
Meanwhile, in Ta’ana and other port cities, resistance is not just military— it’s economic. Following Zuhlgan’s controversial acquisition of seafood giant Bountiful Seas earlier this month, fishing unions and coastal cooperatives have announced a series of rolling strikes, disrupting supply chains across southern Mitallduk.
According to union representatives, Zuhlgani administrators have begun redirecting shipments from Mitalldukish ports to Zuhlgani-owned docks in Prydon and Okhoa, allegedly violating terms of longstanding domestic supply contracts. In Kahetúk, striking workers clashed with security forces on April 18, leading to over a dozen injuries and at least three arrests. “We’re not just losing jobs— our entire food system is being hijacked,” said Ralan Vishtu, a cooperative leader in Glaurr.
Alongside the developing food crisis, the displacement crisis, already dire, has deepened. The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in central Mitallduk has exceeded 592,000 according to the Mitallduk Aid Network, with overcrowded shelters struggling to provide food, heating, and basic sanitation. Meanwhile, the Cordilian Fever outbreak continues to spread unchecked, with rural clinics reporting record fatalities and medicine shortages.
Aid convoys from Krauanagaz and ports have been stalled by poor weather and hostile checkpoints. One relief group, One World United, has called for an internationally guaranteed humanitarian corridor— an idea that TPA-PV officials have so far dismissed as “logistically premature.”
With diplomatic channels straining, resistance movements growing bolder, and Zuhlgan digging in for the long term, Mitallduk stands at a crossroads. Many fear a return to open warfare, but others warn of something more insidious: permanent partition through economic encirclement and selective displacement.
“We are looking at the slow swallowing of a nation,” said political geographer Tiran Meshal of the Cordilian Institute for Strategic Studies. “The lines on the map may not shift overnight— but the power behind them already has.”
Back in the relief camps dotting the Mitalldukish countryside, a new slogan has been scrawled on canvas shelters and cardboard protest signs: “Not Just the Land—Our Lives.”