Soon the bells in the town rang, and the Mahdi's militiamen gathered from all over. The number far exceeded the five hundred people the Great Elder had previously thought. Mahdi looked at the dark crowd below, which numbered a thousand people. Satisfied, he ordered to set off.
He was sitting in an open jeep with more than thirty pickup trucks in front and behind him. These pickup trucks are old and used cars. Africa is a place where you can't afford a new car. They are all scrap cars that have been eliminated, or the better ones are second-hand cars.
The car repairmen here are all experts. If the chassis is broken, they dare to re-weld it and continue to use it. The two steel beams have different weights. This situation is common in poor third world countries. From India and Pakistan to Southeast Asia and Africa, many poor countries are like this.
The garage here dismantles the usable parts of scrapped cars and then reassembles them. If it doesn't work, repair it as much as possible.
These beat-up pickup trucks all had machine guns mounted on them. They are generally 12.7mm caliber heavy machine guns. The types are relatively mixed, and most of them are Su type.
With thousands of armed men and more than 30 pickup trucks, the Mahdi is considered a considerable force in Lower Juba State. After all, this country has a small population, with a total population of only 15 million. This southernmost state has a mostly desert climate and a population of less than half a million people.
He was tall and fat, with a dark beard on his face, his arm resting on the car window with a cigar between his fingers. He must destroy that tribe. He didn't want to see someone else emboldened by standing up to him.
He had only one way to deal with this untamed tribe. That is to attack them, kill those who resist, and seize their livestock and property.
Yin Zak, who was herding sheep, saw a group of pickup trucks slowly approaching in the desert in the distance, followed by many people. The sky was filled with dust.
He was so frightened that he hurriedly drove away the sheep. "Choo! Chirp!" he roared while driving the sheep back.
"The enemy is coming, there are many people, the enemy is coming." He started shouting as soon as he entered the village.
Suddenly, there was confusion.
Ali was on the mountain and saw it too. He lowered his binoculars and said: "No one is allowed to fire without my order. Don't lead them here."
Those warlords didn't know that they were hiding here. They wouldn't know if they didn't shoot.
This is not Ali's war, this is just a war between warlords and tribes. Ali was not interested in their victory or defeat. The only thing he was interested in was what he could gain from this war.
Following the shouts, everyone in the tribe ran out with guns in hand. Families formed a group and hid behind houses to fight against the robbers.
Now, only 500 young and middle-aged people are left here, and the other people and livestock have been sent away. They also have no worries. It doesn't matter if this village is destroyed, they can build a new one.
The great elder shouted: "Don't fire yet, wait until they get close to 300 meters."
Because Ali clearly told them that the AK74 rifle is a small-caliber rifle with an effective range of only three hundred meters. If it's too far away and can't be hit, it's just a waste of ammunition.
However, the Mahdi's men did not follow their wishes. The pickup truck stopped a thousand meters away. More than thirty 12.7mm heavy machine guns turned around and aimed at the village.
Because the village is on the north side of the Dada River. It's a semicircle.
Pickup trucks also surrounded the village in a semicircle. A large number of black soldiers carrying AK47s, dressed in ragged clothes and even shirtless, surrounded the village from all sides.
Ali clearly saw that there were many soldiers in the river. Separate yourself from the village.
At this time, the tribesmen were unable to escape.
Because the baobab trees on the hill are very dense. The people hiding in the mountains were not discovered by the hundreds of people in the river.
After finishing the arrangements, Mahdi asked a person to hold an electric horn and go to the front of the village to shout.
"Attention people inside, your people killed five of our soldiers and blew up one of our pickup trucks. Now it can't be solved by ten thousand donkeys. You must hand over the murderer. At the same time, hand over half of your property. Give us as compensation. Only then can this matter be settled."
"Colonel Mahdi, I'll give you ten minutes to think about it. If you don't..."
boom! There was a gunshot.
The soldier's head was smashed. The person fell straight down.
Leader Hisoka put down the old-fashioned hydraulic bolt-action rifle in his hand, spat and cursed: "You villains, don't even think about deceiving us. Even if we surrender, the devil Mahdi will not let us go."
Mahdi's face was ashen. This was the second time these people hit him in the face today.
"Heavy machine gun fire, razing this village to the ground." Mahdi threw the cigar on the ground. Use your leather shoes to trample them to death.
The heavy machine gun opened fire immediately. The heavy machine gun sprayed out a long flame when the long ammunition belt was fed. The low sound vibrated the eardrums. Bullet casings fell like raindrops.
The 12.7x108mm is a heavy machine gun and anti-materiel rifle cartridge used by the Soviet Union, Russia, China and other countries. Able to penetrate approximately 25 mm of armor with one hit. The effective range is 1500 meters.
There was no need for Mahdi to send troops to attack this tribe. Use your own soldiers to shoot at them. This will cause a lot of casualties. Now Mahdi only needs to shoot them with heavy machine guns.
The terrain here is flat sand with no rocks or trees to stop bullets. Those buildings made of rattan and covered with mud on the lake are no different from those on the paper lake under heavy machine gun fire.
Suddenly, houses collapsed in the village, and wood chips flew into the air.
The bullet hit the wooden pillar, and the pillar as thick as a bowl broke directly. It hit the wall and blasted a huge hole. The power of armor-piercing incendiary bombs, tracer bullets, and combined bullet chains is terrifying.
People hiding behind the house had no problem being hit by bullets that penetrated multiple walls. The human body hit by the heavy machine gun exploded into a ball of blood mist. Turned into minced meat on the ground.
If a 12.7 mm bullet hits the waist, it will cut the person into two parts. If hit on the limbs, it will basically shatter. If it hits the torso, the upper body will be torn into pieces.
The people in the tribe began to fight back crazily with AK74s.
However, this is of no use. At a distance of one thousand meters, the small-caliber AK74 had no chance of hitting. The bullet dropped to the ground before it could fly.
Even rifles like the ak47 that use 7.62x39mm bullets are useless, and the effective range will not exceed 400 meters.
The elder was lying on the ground and saw with his own eyes that a soldier of his family was cut in two by a bullet that penetrated the house. Blood spurted all over the floor. His eyes widened. Only then did he realize that Ali's suggestion was right. Without heavy weapons, he could not fight against these enemies.
