R Street Hostage Crisis (Mercbl)

The R street hostage crisis was the name given to the kidnapping of Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar and Oregon senator Jeff Merkley by members of the group Rabitat Muslimi 'Iifriqia Al'Ahrar (RMIAA). The two senators were both abducted from near Capitol Hill early in the morning of the 5th of June 2031 and were taken hostage in the Nigerien embassy in DC. Each senator was taken hostage by a group of three armed men who drove them both to the embassy where the leader of the group, 49 year old Nigerien national Noël Bain was waiting for them. The two senators would remain in the embassy for 10 days with a large police force outside the embassy before they were killed by their captors in a botched rescue attempt. This incident, and the Reynolds administration's handling of it was a major factor in the True Progressive and Democratic parties agreeing to have a joint ticket in the 2032 U.S Presidential Election, and therefore Reynolds' subsequent defeat.
== Background ==
Following the contentious election of Mahamane Ousmane to the presidency of Niger in 2026, the Nigerien military would be enlisted to crush uprisings an protests in support of exiled former president Mohamed Bazoum, leading to the brief Dama Rebellion. The rebellion was crushed so swiftly largely due to the goverment's enlisting of Islamic fundamentalist militias to engage in guerilla tactics against the rebels, in exchange for the ability of these groups to have increased local rule, especially on certain social issues that were particularly important to them. This led to sharia law being put in place on the local level in much of Niger. This policy was also critised when it became apparent that many of these militias had links to other groups such as Boko Haram. Most of these local govrnments joined the organisation Rabitat Muslimi 'Iifriqia Al'Ahrar (RMIAA) when it was founded in 2028. This group continued to gain more and more power in Niger, and began to recruit members in neighbouring countries such as Nigeria and Chad, soon becoming the most powerful group in Niger. In 2030, a member of the RMIAA, Russom al-Arafat, originally a preacher, who became a commander in the Dama Rebellion, before being elected to the Nigerien parliament and becoming Prime Minister, became the President of Niger following the resignation of President Ousmane, who had been under enormous pressure from the RMIAA.
== Events ==
At around 5am on Thursday the 5th of June, two cars would arrive at Capitol Hill, the first (a 2021 Ford Everest) being driven by Jareer el-Rafiq, with Runako and Junaidu as backup and the second (a 2026 Toyota Corolla) being driven by Louki Ag Marli, with Humaid el-Rafiq and Chydi Nkechi as backup.
At approximately 5:27am Senator Amy Klobuchar would arrive at the Capitol, before being cornered by Runako and Junaidu and forced to enter the car driven by Jareer el-Rafiq at gunpoint. The car would then immediately set off for the Nigerien embassy.
== Reactions ==
== Aftermath ==
Category:Mercbl
Category:Terrorism
Category:2032
Category:United States