Background
1. The Republic of Alin is on the east coast of the Continent of Oslan. Yousef Aflan, leader of the ruling Revolutionary Party, was elected as President in 2000 and has been in power since then. A close political ally, General Hassan Amir, is heading the Alini Defence Forces (ADF) since 1980.
2. Over the last decade, corruption, abuse of power, arbitrary arrests and stringent restrictions on political activity and freedom of expression have become prevalent under the flan regime. The population have become increasingly disillusioned with the Revolutionary Party and the President.
3. Following weeks of social unrest, an estimated 5,000 protesters turned up at Liberation Square in Orkan, the second largest city, on 15 January 2013. Protesters chanted anti- government slogans and called for the immediate resignation of President Yousef Aflan. Security forces in an effort to disperse the crowd killed twenty protesters and scores of them were injured.
4. On the following day, the government of Alin decided to impose censorship on the internet in the wake of increasing criticisms from the people about the economic and social policies of the Revolutionary Party. Resentment among the Alini population, especially among the young generation, surged after the internet censorship was imposed.
5. On 15 March 2013, a militant group, unknown to the public until then, attacked the police and security forces in the southern part of Orkan and took control of a local administrative council. Colonel Aziz Nur, leader of this self-proclaimed “Alin Liberation Army” (ALA), announced in the media that the ALA was “a voluntary force striving for a free Alin through armed struggle”. Colonel Nur called for the resignation of Yousef Aflan and a national election.
6. The government immediately denounced the ALA as “terrorists”. In the following days, President Aflan, in consultation with General Amir, decided to launch an offensive to neutralize the ALA, as the group was rapidly expanding its control over several towns in the southern part of the country. The ADF commander in Orkan, Colonel Adada reported to General Amir and took instructions from him directly. Colonel Adada was a popular figure among his forces, who swore loyalty to him and claimed to only answer to him.
Demonstrations and Crackdown in North Orkan
7. As the ADF was moving to regain control of the southern part of the city, the Aflan government declared martial law in Okran and its suburbs. Towards the beginning of June 2013, local activists, sympathetic to the ALA but not the use of violence, were planning a demonstration march to the Town Hall in the northern part of Orkan, where the main government administration was located. The march was coordinated by supporters through various social media channels. Its objective was to protest against the ruling government and occupy the Town Hall.
8. General Amir, Colonel Adada and other senior local military staff had a meeting on 10 June 2013 at the Town Hall. A military officer present at this meeting recalled that, invoking its powers under the martial law, General Amir prohibited the manifestation and instructed the ADF to take any necessary measures to prevent it. Another military