1999 Walmart Crisis

The 1999 Walmart Crisis is a crisis caused by the Kodiak Liberation Front in protest against the Russian Oblast of Kodiak, with its main goal to remove the Russian government that was in place.
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==Background==
===THE KLF===
Further Information: Kodiak Liberation Front
The KLF or Kodiak Liberation Front was an anarchist movement formed within the Kodiak Oblast from dissatisfied civilians who sought to establish a free order within the oblast. 
Their leader Anton Strovetsky, a former Oblast official founded the movement in February of 1999 and began trying to consolidate power. The group began stockpiling weapons that had been discarded by Russian armed forces, consisting of mainly outdated technology.
==Events==
===MORNING OF MARCH 3RD 1999===
On the morning of March 3rd, 1999 the KLF moved the entirety of their forces in an assault on the Walmart in the Kodiak oblast. They imprisoned store security but ushered out all shoppers. Within 15 minutes the store was on lockdown with Oblast authorities outside the store attempting to negotiate. 
Authorities reported a man climbing to the roof the Walmart and raising the makeshift flag of the KLF (a solid black-greyish flag). No shots were exchanged, but it is noted that the KLF took access of all munitions and weapons within the Walmart's hunting department, gaining around 30 hunting rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition. As the sun set the KLF and authorities were in an uneasy confrontation, but hostilities had not yet begun.
===PRELUDE OTH ALLEGED SIGHTING===
After the occupation of the Walmart, authorities claimed to have seen 5 men dressed in OTH officer uniforms in the back of the walmart exchanging weapons for something unknown.
===BEGINNING OF HOSTILITIES===
At 8 AM on the 4th of March, a negotiator approached the door of the Walmart and pressed the KLF to speak with him in order to secure the freedom of the store staff trapped inside. In response, the KLF shot at him with a hunting rifle, wounding him in the legs severely, causing the Kodiak authorities to drag him back to their service vehicles. This marked the beginning of the siege, with local authorities and soon military forces setting up a defensive line surrounding the Walmart. Following the shooting of the negotiator, a half hour gunfight erupted resulting in minor injuries on both sides. 
By 3:00 PM on that day military personnel had arrived to reinforce the siege. Two battalions of the Kodiak defense force were deployed, along with machine gun and mortar detachments were allocated. They used jeeps as well as APCs to encircle the store. Oblast sharpshooters were stretched along the line on the lookout for any targets inside.
===THE SIEGE===
A drawn out siege lasted from the 5th to the 18th, with little to no major events. On the 6th shots rang out from the store that hit nobody in the Oblast encirclement. The Oblast responded with suppressive fire through the windows but did not wound any KLF members. On the 7th, the Oblast cut off electricity, water and gas to the store. On the 10th KLF members began communicating with the Oblast personnel telling them "You won't be able to starve us out! We have supplies for a month in here!" with Oblast personnel still attempting to achieve a surrender or the release of Walmart staff. However the communication broke down with the KLF returning to ignoring calls from the Oblast. On the 14th, Oblast personnel reported hearing eight gunshots from inside the store. 
It was later theorized that this was the KLF executing several members of the Walmart staff for unknown reasons. Oblast personnel attempted to shout to the KLF about the nature of the gunshots, but were once more ignored. On the 16th, a soldier from the Oblast was shot in the head and killed by a KLF fighter with a hunting rifle. This resulted in a sporadic gunfight for nearly two hours, with lulls of 15 seconds to 5 minutes between gunshots. On the 17th, more gunshots were heard from inside the Walmart believed to be the execution of the rest of the store staff. Due to this belief, the Oblast would begin a harsher treatment of the KLF, believing innocents to no longer be in danger.
===BOMBARDMENT 18th-20th===
At 2:00 PM on March 18th, the Oblast opened fire on the store with several mortars, damaging the ceiling and causing panic inside the store. They also ordered the deployment of two howitzers along their siege lines in order to pound the KLF into submission. The bombardment on the first day had no effect on the KLF morale, so the bombardment did not persist that day. On the 19th, a heavy mortar bombardment was ordered and hit the store at 11:00 AM causing significant damage to the ceiling. 
This resulted in 3 KLF members attempting to flee out the front door, however they were shot dead by the KLF members inside. The Oblast were unable to recover their bodies due to their proximity to the windows. On that same night the howitzers and their ammunition arrived, leaving the Oblast to decide on a heavy bombardment the following morning. 
At 5:00 AM on the 20th, the howitzers locked in their targets and prepared to fire in tandem with the mortars. At 5:01 AM the howitzers opened fire, pounding the store and causing massive damage. The howitzers would fire non stop until 5:32 AM and by that point the store was reduced to rubble. As the howitzers ravaged the store, the mortars also joined in, causing further damage to the store............
===AFTERMATH 20th-21st===
After the bombardment ceased, a battalion from the Oblast moved forward onto the rubble of the store to search for survivors. No survivors were actually reported, with all those spotted haven either been torn apart by shells or crushed by rubble. For the remainder of the 20th, the Oblast set about dismantling their siege line and returning the rest of the area to normal. 
On the 21st all easily accessible bodies were removed from the rubble, with any of the ones buried underneath simply left there. Controversially, no cleanup operation was ever greenlit, causing the rubble to sit there to this day.
Category:Battles
Category:Atrocities