The Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative in Profile

Once known only as a largely uninhabitable area of Northeast Zeebia, the Niganda mountain range has become the focus of international attention with the emergence of a new military junta, the "Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative". The news is shocking, not only because of the presence of more conflict in the already war-torn region, but because Niganda is best known to local Zeebians and neighboring nations as a large, informal, garbage dump with no agriculture and little-to-no fresh water. Although people do live in the region, it is a scavenger existence, for the desperate and dispossessed with nowhere left to go. Humanitarian aid from Wakanda and the UN has been rebuked by the Zeebian government as the population of the Nigandan region is regarded as sub-human. 

Niganda 

It is not known precisely how or when, but a self-styled dictator, calling himself Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel, set up camp in Niganda and began recruiting an army. Intelligence suggests that, despite the outlandish name, Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel is of African descent, most likely of the Efe group, but his rhetoric is almost entirely Fascist. It is not known how Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel came across the tenants of National Socialism, but he has been spotted carrying around a partially intact copy of "Mein Kampf" in the original German. It is not known if Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel can read German, but his speeches about the "Master Race" and an African "Enthostate" leave little to the imagination. 

Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel (centre) leading a "rally". 

Commentators consider Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel to be "[a] ...dangerously insane nutbar" and "utterly incompetent", but that has not stopped him from gathering a substantial following and arming them, forming a kind of army, complete with armoured support reminiscent of the Axis forces of WWII. When UN Peacekeepers investigated just where Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel was sourcing his materiel, the trail seemed to lead to alleged arms dealer, Nikolai Robinski, but, as always, the evidence is not enough to launch a full-scale investigation. 

The only known picture of alleged Arms Dealer, Nikolai Robinski. 

Although armed with outdated and unreliable arms and armour, the Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative has enjoyed remarkable success, as fanatics often do, striking into neighboring territories and sowing terror. Exact details on casualties and tactical efficacy is lacking, due to dictatorial propensity towards propaganda and inflating even minor victories, of which Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel is no exception. Victory parades are a common occurrence in the Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative "capital" of Shakamalcomkingjrbarrelaminsburg (which appears to be several huts, one villa and a scattering of barracks); a flexing of muscle for both the oppressed people of Niganda and for neighboring factions, including Wakanda. Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel has a particular distaste for Wakanda, and its ruler, T'Challa, the Black Panther, as is planning an "invasion" of the reclusive nation, leading the UN to assume that the "problem" will soon be resolved by Wakanda's notoriously impenetrable defenses. 

New Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative recruits at a "Turning Out Parade". 

The following pictures were taken at one of the many Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative parades and give an insight into the capability of the forces under the command of Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel. 

 The "military might" of the Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative is not all that threatening on the surface. 

 The Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative "Command Group" utilises severely outdated weaponry, including unreliable flame throwers. 

 Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel (right) and his "Military Advisor", suspected to be wanted Nazi War Criminal Johann Schmidt. 

 Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative troops are poorly equipped and trained. 

 The Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative may be the only military on the planet to still send half-tracks into battle. 

 Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative tanks seen in rare working condition. 

The Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative have appropriated their own Fascist symbolism from unknown origins. 

Whilst the Nigandan Authoritarian Socialist Initiative are something of a threat for those nearby, both the organisation in general and Unterseeboot Kapitan von Schooten die Fischen in der Barrel particular are not considered a major threat to the stability of the area. 

(With apologies to Eureka Miniatures Nic, Marvel Comics and the cast and crew of "The Black Gestapo" [1975])