booktalesy Chapter 111 Open Fire
Chapter 111 Open Fire
Chapter 111 Open Fire
Libya is not yet in a position to talk about independence and autonomy.
It has no capacity to help Arab League countries gain independent and autonomous status.
Ahmed may sound pitiful, but he doesn't deserve any sympathy.
The term "brothers" is just a figure of speech.
Hai Shan might feel some sympathy.
Qin Rui clearly remembers how the so-called "brotherly" countries acted when Libya was bombed by the coalition forces.
From the perspective of "brotherly" countries, their inaction, or even their taking advantage of others' misfortunes, is out of necessity.
When Libya demonstrated its value in uniting the nation, various forms of aid and donations followed, fully demonstrating the true nature of a "brotherly" country.
Unlike the Arab League's "brother" countries, Libya and Guinea are the real brothers.
Libya's stated reason for sending troops to Guinea was to protect the assets of Libyan companies in Guinea.
Based on his outstanding performance in Libya, Calcani was appointed CEO of the Eni Group by the Eni Group's board of directors.
Blake Castillo, the newly appointed general manager of Eni's Libyan branch, told Yuri that there had been a promise that Libya's interests in Guinea would not be affected regardless of how the situation in Guinea developed, if Libya withdrew its troops.
"Whose promise is this?"
Yuri and Castillo have not yet established trust.
"I'm sorry, Your Excellency Prime Minister, I cannot tell you."
Castillo kept quiet.
Yuri's gentle gaze instantly sharpened like a knife.
"Okay, okay, it's Total."
Castillo fully demonstrated the flexibility of the Italians.
"Is Total willing to give up its own interests to Cyrenaica?"
Yuri sneered; the Frenchman's posture was more supple than the Italian's.
France's performance in Chad fully demonstrated the weakness of the petty bourgeoisie.
Yuri had expected that Libya's use of drones to destroy "Caesar" would provoke a more intense retaliation from France.
Unexpectedly, France made a spectacular retreat, shifting its focus to Guinea and counter-terrorism.
From a purely interest-based perspective, France's decision was calm and rational, in line with the principle of obtaining the greatest benefit at the lowest cost.
In the long run, France's retreat in Chad will lead to a significant decline in France's influence in North Africa.
The true nature of democratic practices has once again been exposed.
Even if France's influence in North Africa declines significantly in the future, that is a problem that future French presidents will need to consider. Hollande believes that future French presidents will be able to restore France's prestige in North Africa.
If the French army can achieve its objectives in Guinea and Mali, it can also, to some extent, recover the losses France suffered in Chad.
"The aluminum mines in Guinea are not monopolized by Total; other companies are also involved."
If Libya withdraws its troops, Total is willing to exchange a portion of its Guinea aluminum mine shares for a portion of its Simandou iron ore mine shares.
Yuri couldn't help but laugh at Castillo's proposal.
Total will definitely not touch Cyrenaica and Mobil's stakes in the Simandou iron ore mine.
Therefore, Castillo's proposal was to exchange the shares of other multinational companies in Guinea's aluminum mines for the shares of Eastern companies in the Simandou iron ore mine.
Do you think this plan is reasonable?
Yuri's words were meaningful.
If Castillo deems the plan reasonable, then Yuri should inform Carcani to make a substitution.
Alternatively, Eni's interests in Libya could be reconsidered.
Not afraid of god-like opponents, but afraid of pig-like teammates.
"It's not entirely reasonable, but if you do this, it will, to some extent, repair relations with Paris."
Castillo's answer did not satisfy Yuri.
"First of all, Libya will never betray its friends;
Secondly, this plan is unreasonable;
Furthermore, Total overestimated its own strength;
Finally, Libya does not care about the so-called friendship of Paris;
Yuri rejected it entirely.
Castillo still needs to be observed.
While Castillo was lobbying Yuri, some workers at the Simandou iron mine, dissatisfied with their wages and benefits, organized a strike.
Unlike other Guinean companies that pay wages weekly or even daily.
Salaries at the Simandou iron ore mine are paid monthly.
The Simandou iron ore mine has very strict penalties for being late, leaving early, or being absent without leave. The first offense results in a deduction of salary, and the second offense results in immediate dismissal without any leniency.
Most Guinean workers have never experienced such strict management; they are used to spending their wages in a single day after a week's work before returning to work to earn more.
The iron ore company reacted swiftly, dismissing all the organizers and participants of the strike without exception.
"This is Guinea, you can't treat us like this!"
"You're no different from those damned guys."
"We need to work, we need to eat!"
The dismissed workers, along with some of their family members, gathered in front of the company's headquarters, their emotions running high.
If it weren't for the two armored vehicles converted from heavy mining trucks blocking their way, they wouldn't have just been shouting slogans.
Inside the conference room on the fourth floor of the headquarters, senior company executives are holding an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.
"Now that we've come to Guinea, we must adapt to local customs in order to carry out our work more smoothly."
Many workers were simply misled into participating; firing them all would negatively impact our project's progress.
Meng Jingwei, the deputy general manager in charge of construction, suggested making appropriate compromises to appease the workers.
"Stop with your 'benevolent' act; nobody will pay for their ignorance."
If we compromise, they won't be grateful; it will only reinforce their belief that we are weak and easily bullied.
Fox, the vice president from Mobil, took a tough stance.
"Bard, what are your suggestions?"
Saleh proactively sought the opinion of Balde Selú, the representative of the Guinean government.
"Guinea is about to establish a new order, and growing pains are inevitable."
Cerlou's stance was equally tough.
"If we fire them all, what will happen to our project schedule?"
Meng Jingwei was not only worried about the project's progress, but also worried that resorting to violence would damage the international reputation of Dongqi.
The international environment for companies in the East is simply too harsh. If the same thing happened to a European or American company, it would be a testament to the brilliance of humanity.
If this happened in Dongqi, it must be a new form of colonization originating from Dongqi.
Immediately after the strike began, Fox suggested that the security services intervene and forcefully suppress the strike, arresting the organizers and handing them over to the Guinean government.
Fortunately, Saleh did not agree, thus preventing more serious consequences.
Meng Jingwei was almost certain that if Saleh agreed to use violence to suppress the strike, there would definitely be casualties. At that time, Dongqi would not only be besieged by public opinion, but might even lose its shares in the Simandou iron ore mine.
Dongqi has a wealth of experience and lessons learned in dealing with these issues.
"Meng, progress doesn't tell the whole story."
Even if Saleh resorts to violence, he will not shift the blame to Chinalco: "This strike is closely related to the situation in Guinea. Some people are taking the opportunity to incite public opinion. Even if we compromise, they will not give up."
Just as Meng Jingwei was about to speak, gunshots rang out.
Alexander has been in a state of high tension since the strike began.
To prevent striking workers from storming the headquarters, Alexander not only ordered armored vehicles to block the entrance, but also deployed snipers at high altitudes and used drones to conduct close reconnaissance of the surrounding area.
"How long will it take for support to arrive?"
The footage transmitted by Alexander via drone clearly showed a large number of people gathering on a hillside about 1 kilometer from headquarters.
"About half an hour."
Alexander's deputy, Alpha, was a liaison officer sent by the Guinean government.
Although the security company's mission is to protect the mines, the Guinean government will not allow such an armed force to exist within its borders.
The Guinean government's military forces are limited in strength and can only maintain order in the capital, Conakry, and the surrounding areas.
The Simandou iron ore mine is located in southwestern Guinea, outside the protection zone of the Guinean government forces. The reinforcements are peacekeeping troops from Libya.
As time went on, the crowd gathered in front of headquarters grew increasingly agitated and slowly approached the armored vehicle.
"Sir, someone has crossed the cordon. May we open fire?"
The squad leader, Andri, who was on guard duty inside the armored vehicle, requested authorization to fire.
"No, do not fire unless they attack first."
Alpha doesn't want to harm innocent people.
"Damn it! They're closing in on us. Can we fire warning shots?"
Andri was tense. At least a thousand people had gathered at the scene, while the number of security personnel was small, putting them at a significant disadvantage.
"There are so many women and children here. If we open fire, it will definitely cause serious casualties."
Please, don't shoot.
Alpha was thrown into disarray, never expecting its opponent to be so cunning.
"Order the armored vehicles to retreat back into the compound. If anyone dares to climb over the gate, you may open fire."
No sooner had Alexander finished speaking than gunshots rang out.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! We are under attack, some are wounded, requesting permission to fire, repeat, requesting permission to fire!"
Andri was extremely nervous; the worst-case scenario had finally occurred.
"We can retaliate!"
Alexander acted decisively, while Alpha turned pale and closed his eyes in pain.
Thump thump thump thump————
As the vehicle-mounted heavy machine gun opened fire, the scene descended into complete chaos.
When reinforcements arrived, the crowd had already dispersed, leaving behind nearly a hundred corpses.
Many of the bodies had been shot in the back.
"Those bastards hid among the women and children and shot at us; we were forced to return fire."
Furthermore, we did not fire into the crowd; instead, we fired warning shots into the air. This was not our doing.
Alexander did not regret giving the order to fire.
"Indeed, if you were responsible, these bodies wouldn't be so intact."
The reinforcement commander, Tariq, felt a pang of unease.
Tariq, who had previously served in the Libyan army, seemed to recognize the situation.
The Libyan civil war also started with protests.
The Libyan government forces did not suppress the protests immediately, which led to the demonstrations spreading to all cities across the country and eventually spiraling out of control.
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