Second Iraqi–Kurdish War
Second Iraqi–Kurdish War | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Iraqi–Kurdish conflict | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Belligerents | |||||||||
KDP Iran Supported by: Israel[1] United States[2] |
Iraq Supported by: Soviet Union[3] | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Mustafa Barzani Mohammad Reza Pahlavi |
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr Saddam Hussein | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
100,000–110,000 fighters[5] 350,000 troops[6] |
90,000 troops[5] 1,200 tanks and AFVs[5] 200 aircraft[5] (not all engaged)[5] | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
10,000 killed[7] | 2,500 killed[8] | ||||||||
Total: 7,000+[9] to 20,000 killed[10] 600,000 displaced[9][11] 280,000 Kurds fled to Iran[12] |
The Second Iraqi–Kurdish War
Background
Kurds led by Mustafa Barzani were engaged in heavy fighting against successive Iraqi regimes from 1960 to 1975. The First Iraqi–Kurdish War (1961–1970) led to a stalemate and in March 1970 Iraq announced a peace plan providing for Kurdish autonomy. The plan was to be implemented in four years.[14] However, at the same time, the Iraqi regime started an Arabization program in the oil-rich regions of Kirkuk and Khanaqin.[15]
Iraqi campaign
The 1970 peace agreement did not last long, and in 1974, the Iraqi government began a new offensive against the Kurdish rebels, pushing them close to the border with Iran. As in the First Iraqi-Kurdish War, the Kurds received material support from Iran and Israel. Israel regarded the Iraqi Armed Forces as a possible threat in case of renewed fighting between Israel and Syria (during the 1973 War about one third of Iraq's army had been sent to fight against Israel on the Syrian front) and so wished to keep the Iraqis occupied elsewhere. Iran wished to strengthen its own political and military position vis-à-vis Iraq—the only other regional power in the Persian Gulf.
Iraq begins negotiations with Iran
As the fighting progressed, Iraq informed
Aftermath
As a result, the Iraqi government extended its control over the Iraqi Kurdistan after fifteen years and in order to secure its influence, started an Arabization program by moving Arabs to the vicinity of oil fields in northern Iraq, particularly the ones around Kirkuk.[16] The repressive measures carried out by the government against the Kurds after the Algiers agreement led to renewed clashes between the Iraqi Army and Kurdish guerrillas in 1977. In 1978 and 1979, 600 Kurdish villages were burned down and around 200,000 Kurds were deported to other parts of the country.[17]
In the early 1980s, with the eruption of the
The area underwent chaos again in 1991 following the
See also
- Iraqi Kurdistan
- List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
- Legislative Council of the Autonomous Kurdistan Region
References
- ^ "18. Iraq/Kurds (1932-present)".
- ISBN 9780521702478.
- ^ "17. Iraq/Kurds (1932-present)".
- ^ J. Schofield, Militarization and War, p. 122
- ^ ISBN 978-0-415-40078-7.
- ISBN 978-0-87289-775-5.
- ^ "18. Iraq/Kurds (1932-present)".
- ISBN 978-0-87289-775-5.
- ^ University of Maryland. Archived from the originalon 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2011-04-06.
- ISBN 0-7475-0260-9.
- ^ a b "All wars in the 20th century, since 1900 | the Polynational War Memorial".
- ^ "18. Iraq/Kurds (1932-present)".
- ^ p.48 "The Second Kurdish-Iraqi War (1974-1975)" Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
- S2CID 145235862.
- ^ "Introduction". Genocide in Iraq: The Anfal Campaign Against the Kurds (Human Rights Watch Report, 1993).
- ^ Harris (1977), p. 121.
- ^ Farouk-Sluglett, M.; Sluglett, P.; Stork, J. (July–September 1984). "Not Quite Armageddon: Impact of the War on Iraq". MERIP Reports: 24.