User:Heatyeet/Hopara Valley Massacre

Not to be confused with Hopaar Massacre of 1871.

Heatyeet/Hopara Valley Massacre
Part of the Yap'ai Genocide in North Island, Ethnic cleansing in Krakoa, and the Second Krakoan Civil War
The charred remains of a refugee killed during the massacre
A visualization of the events that took place during the massacre
Location	Hopara Valley, Ikunamutatskjon occupied North Island
Date	24 July 1971
Target	Yap'ai refugees and anti-Ikuna resistance groups
Deaths	~3,000 refugees, ~20 Ikuna soldiers
Perpetrators	Ikunamutatskjon Regime Police and Armed Forces
Defenders	Andrea Yokosara and resistance fighters
Motive	Yap'ai ethnic cleansing
Inquiry	Krakoan Civil War Tribunal

The Hopara Valley Massacre was a massacre that occured during the Second Krakoan Civil War. The massacre was perpetrated by the Ikunamutatskjon Army in the Hopara Valley Region on 24 July 1971, while the Ikunamutatskjon Army was proceeding down the Cho'ok River to confront the Krakoan and American troops who had invaded North Island the day before. The massacre is one of the most well documented massacres in Krakoan history.

Several months before the massacre, several Yap'ai resistance groups led by Andrea Yokosara in the now independent North Island had fled to the Hopara Valley to escape persecution. The valley was used to help Yap'ai refugees flee the Ikunamutatskjon Regime's concentration and death camps. It remained safe due to the Ikuna Army's unwillingness to traverse the Cho'ok mountains. The region quickly grew in population as thousands of refugees fled the regime, and the estimated population of the valley at the time of the massacre was ~3,000 people. The camp became one of the safest refugee camps in North Island at the time, although the population grew uncontrollably as most of the refugees were too weak to make the 500 mile journey to escape North Island. Andrea Yokosara and her accomplices are credited with frequently leaving the valley to bring food and supplies to ensure the survival of the refugees.

The massacre took place 13 months after refugees had first begun to arrive, when the Ikuna Army began moving in full force down the Cho'ok River to meet the Krakoan Defense Forces who had invaded the island. It was originally believed by Yokosara and her fellow revolutionaries that the Army would proceed down the Yap'aska River due to their unwillingness to come down the Cho'ok River previously. However, the Ikuna Army knew of the camp in the Hopara Valley and intended to destroy it as they proceeded down the river. On the morning of 24 July 1971, the 17th Regiment of the Ikuna Army moved into the valley with tanks and several hundred foot soldiers. The soldiers began firing indiscriminately at refugee tents and houses while tanks began firing shells towards the refugee camp. Yokosara and several other revolutionaries attempted to defend the camp by returning fire, but most, including Yokosara were killed soon after. Most of the 3,000 refugees were killed within an hour of the massacre beginning. The army burned down any remains and continued their advance down the valley.

In the aftermath, there were almost no survivors. Most that had survived had managed to hide in the trees of the mountains while the massacre unfolded. However, most would die soon after due to starvation and previously suffered wounds, or by suicide. Yokosara is credited with killing 17 Ikuna soldiers, and delaying the army's advance, for which she was posthumously awarded the Gold Star of Freedom in 1979.