Upon their arrival in Baghdad, the Indonesian forces are met by General Zaamil el-Aziz, who is coordinating the fielding of the bulk of the Caliphates' forces. From there, the Indonesian forces would be sent south to Riyadh, with some being sent to Medina. The Indonesians are informed that it is currently unsafe to fly planes any further south, due to the Axumite assault by air and sea. There would be roughly 450,000 Arab troops heading south to Riyadh alongside the Indonesians, with a further 250,000 heading to Medina. Alongside those troops would be a further 25,000 and 10,000 volunteer forces from around the Muslim world, respectively.
A further 250,000 Arab troops would meet up with the 50,000 already station in the oil fields, with the intent of protecting them against potential Axumite threats.
Egypt, seeing the invasion and the movement of Axumite ships, issues a global decree denouncing Axumite and its actions. Although they do not declare the entire nation as a terrorist entity, they do declare the government as one. Egyptian troops, having amassed in the south of Aegyptus, begin their trek south along the Nile towards Axum. An arrangement (bribe) is made with the Christian Nubians, allowing the Egyptians safe passage through the Nubian Confederation. The Egyptian troops, numbering around 250,000 will head south towards Atbara, where they will head directly for the capital of Axum. Alongside the troops are several priests and around 250 Holy Guards from the Coptic Pope in Alexandria. Their goal is to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant from the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum and return it safely to a monastery in Aegyptus.
The Omani forces begin gathering at the Axumite border in Yemen, but do not invade yet.
Axumite mines are laid roughly around Socotra in the south, and just north of Jeddah in the north.
Seeing the sheer audacity of Arab civilians in their attacks on the Axumite troops, the order is quickly given for the men to fire on civilians, but not to go out of their way hunting down the civilians. Most troops agree to this wholeheartedly, either buying into the propaganda fed to them by the Axumite government, or simply following orders because that's what good soldiers do. That said, there are several hundred (spread throughout) who do question the orders and refuse to fire on the civilians. These soldiers, if not already killed by the Arab civilians committing suicide attacks, are reprimanded by their commanding officers and either sent back to Yemen or shot on sight - most are shot on sight. After a few of these shootings most get over any remorse they may have and begin opening fire on any and all Arab civilians they see.
A rare sight, however, is the 78th Tigre Mobilized Unit, who encountered civilian forces near Al Mishaliah and were separated from the main attack force. The troops were ready and willing to engage the civilians, seeing them attacking the troops first, but the commander hesitated. Knowing Arabic himself, having come from a mixed family and having an Arabic mother, the commander called out, first in Ge'ez, then in Tigre, and finally in Arabic. He called for a ceasefire and asked to speak with whoever was in charge of the Arabic civilians. Some more firing occurred, but after shouting out his request a few more times, that halted as well. Hesitantly, Arab civilians began to emerge from behind destroyed buildings and cars. A small group of fighters emerged from behind the town's mosque, lead by the local Sheikh. He came forward and the two spoke in Arabic for several minutes, before the commander ordered his troops to throw down their weapons and surrender. The troops complied, and the Sheikh brought them into a nearby school, where they were guarded by the civilians of the village as prisoners of war.
Several other commanders would hesitate upon receiving the order to shoot civilians, however without knowledge of Arabic, and with soldiers more loyal to the cause, these commanders are either shot or arrested. Once word gets out, the military officials threaten and bribe military officers to comply with the orders, and these reports quickly diminish.
Once the order to fire on civilians is given, several party officials also raise questions about the legitimacy of this war. However their voices are quickly silenced as they are charged with treason and promptly executed and their families imprisoned.
With troops now firing directly upon the civilians, and the Arab's surprise of suicide cars and bombers being discovered, the military is able to be somewhat more effective in their push into the Caliphate. That said, they do bleed troops somewhat, especially in villages along the highways, due to their need to keep a supply line open and the fact that much of the civilian population is hostile to them. However, to their benefit is the lack of firearms and bombs in the possession of the civilians, thus allowing them to hold the towns and villages more securely once they have killed the civilians who are attacking them. In some villages, uncontrolled slaughter occurs after civilians attack the soldiers, the news of which quickly spreads, hardening the hearts of some and causing others to lay down their arms to protect their loved ones. The troops continue their northern push, albeit at a much slower pace than initially planned.
Of the remaining 400,000 troops they are split, with 150,000 remaining to protect Axum from the detected approaching Egyptian troops from the north. These troops are sent to the town of Kassala and begin entrenching their position.
150,000 troops are sent into Yemen, where they join the push towards Mecca. 50,000 troops are loaded onto ships and sent to storm the beaches of Jeddah.
The 50,000 troops sent to the Omani border arrive, and begin staring down the Omani forces. Neither side opens fire, yet.
The Axumite planes above the Caliphate continue their assault, trying to force their way through in an effort to reach Mecca. Realizing the suicidal strategy of the Arabs, the order is given for the planes to fall back, while the ground forces open up their AA weapons on the Arab air force, in an attempt to thin out their numbers somewhat. Meanwhile, the second group of 33 & 66 are launched north and across the Red Sea, taking a different route towards Mecca. The goal is utter destruction of the city. The hope is that with the Arab planes occupied in the south, these planes will be able to slip through unhindered. 16 Sukhoi Su-17's are launched and sent to bomb the Caliphates oil fields in the east, these planes fly over Yemen before turning north near the Omani border. The remaining planes (50 Sukhoi Su-17 & 70 Mikoyan MiG-31) are still left on standby, so as not to tip their hand.
The ships in the Red Sea, upon being given the order to fire on civilians, open fire on the Arab fishing vessels, and sometimes ramming them, not heeding calls by the civilians, in their push to reach Jeddah. The mine layers were able to go through ahead of the main ships, and begin laying their mines, whilst the main fleet begins a complete assault on Jeddah's defenses and the city itself. Not limiting their assault to just the city's defenses, the vessels target civilian targets and other targets most likely to cause the most damage and kill the most Muslims.
After a while, they lift the bombardment so the Axumite troops can land in the city. Some vessels remain in the area, but others turn north to face the approaching Arab-Egyptian fleet.
The other half of the Axumite fleet would be stationed just within the minefield being laid near Socotra and the southern Yemen borders. Their goal would be to destroy any approaching Muslim vessels from the south.
In Yemen, the Christian network helping Muslims escape is discovered when someone reports seeing a Muslim in their neighbours yard one night. The Secret Police are quick to respond and discover the Muslim before he can escape. The homeowner is tortured until he confesses the network, and in one sweep, much of the network is disrupted and destroyed.
Work continues on slowly emptying the ghettos and transferring the Muslims to prison camps around the country. Some Muslims protest and fight back, leading to a shooting in the Ghetto of Bosaso, where the troops stationed there kill all Muslims in the ghetto. Elsewhere, in the heavily Muslim city of Galkayo, a revolt breaks out and the Muslims (who had smuggled guns in from a "friend") begin fighting members of the secret police in the streets. Several hundred Christians in the city are massacred by the Muslims during this revolt.
One general, who had been instructed to invest in developing a new tank, pockets a few hundred thousand birr, and sends roughly $2,500,000 USD to an undisclosed source (@People's Holy Tai Empire) to begin procedures to acquire some fancy tanks.
Finally, to top things off, and in response to the growing situation, the Axumite government has declared a nationwide state of martial law. This has imposed a curfew, restricted people from gathering in groups of more than 4 (outside of immediate family), and prohibited people from doing more than going to work, spending 1 hour in the closest park, and going to the supermarkets. This will also allow swifter action against anyone planning anything nefarious against the government. The government (propaganda) sells this to the people by blaming Muslims for it.
Caliphate forces in the skies over the south fall for the Axumite tricks, and suffer losses at their hands, but would quickly fall back, still intent on defending the city. As the other squadrons of Axumite planes fly in from over the Red Sea, the planes would be ill-equipped and in the wrong location to defend Mecca, especially with the other Axumite planes engaging them from the south. As such, the Axumite planes from the coast would successfully make it to Mecca, where they would begin bombing the city, and especially the Kaaba and pilgrimage sites. Caliphate AA weapons would provide some defense, but it would not be enough to stop the bombardment of the city.
As the Axumite planes go to pull out, the main bulk of the Caliphate's airforce would swoop down from the north east, where they would engage the retreating Axumite planes. This would lead to a dogfight in the skies above Mecca, between the Axumite and Caliphate airforces.
The Egyptian and Arab fleet has joined forces just inside the Suez and has begun its journey south towards the Axumite minefield and fleet.
Thanks to the members of the Associated Press that the Arab Caliphate had brought in, and connections with local Arab press, live footage of the bombings and attacks on Jeddah and Mecca are shared with the world. As are the attacks in Abha and Khamis Mushait, though in these cities the members of the Associated Press would report both the Muslim suicide bombers, and the Axumites fighting back. They would also report on the out of proportion attacks by the Axumites on innocent Arab civilians, as well as the execution of several Axumite soldiers who refuse to fire on civilians. Some of the live footage would end abruptly as Axumites fire on civilians, including members of the press.
Following this footage being released worldwide, every single Muslim nation declares war on Axum, weather they are able of actually sending troops or not. Almost every other nation with some semblance of a decent government issues statements of condemnation against the Axumites, pledging aid and support for the Caliphates and Muslims. A notable holdout is the Argentinian Reich, whose government issues a statement of support for the Axumite cause, actually sending money to support the Axumites.
Korea and Kyushu send troops to Ayutthaya to join in the coalition against Axum, but do not release statements with regards to the Tai crusade. Almost all other nations with Christian populations look questionably on the statement by the Tai pope, with some going so far as to state that "the last thing the world needs right now is more religious fanatics". The Coptic Pope in Alexandria, who is in communion with the Catholics in Rome, remind the Tai Catholics that "the Axumites broke away from our church, we will deal with their priests accordingly". He also strongly urges the Tai Catholics to consider their eternal souls and to return to communion with Rome.