Nahla Valley ( ar, سهل نهلا, syr, ܢܚܠܐ, ku, نههلێ, translit=Nehlê) is a geographic region located in the province of
Dohuk
Duhok ( ku, دهۆک, translit=Dihok; ar, دهوك, Dahūk; syr, ܒܝܬ ܢܘܗܕܪܐ, Beth Nohadra) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It's the capital city of Duhok Governorate.
History
The city's origin dates back to the Sto ...
in the
Akre District
Akre District ( ku, قەزای ئاکرێ, Qezay Akrê, ) is a district in Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan Region. The administrative center is the city of Akre
Akre or Aqrah ( ku, ئاکرێ, Akrê, ar, عقرة, syr, ܥܩܪ, Aqra') is a city ...
,
Kurdistan Region
Kurdistan Region ( ku, هەرێمی کوردستان, translit=Herêmî Kurdistan; ar, إقليم كردستان), abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok ...
of
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. The
Sapna valley
Sapna is a town and municipality located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
History
People have lived in the Sapna region since the earliest days. In the Middle Ages, Sapna was an im ...
lies to the northwest and is separated by a mountain range, and the city of
Akre
Akre or Aqrah ( ku, ئاکرێ, Akrê, ar, عقرة, syr, ܥܩܪ, Aqra') is a city in the Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan Region in Iraq. Akre is known for its celebrations of Newroz.
Etymology
The name "Akre" stems from the Kurdish word "Ag ...
is to the south, separated by another mountain range. It is bound by the
Greater Zab River to the north and east, and the
Khazir River
The Khazir River ( ar, الخازر) is a river of northern Iraq, a tributary of the Great Zab river, joining its right bank.
Geomorphology
The area around the Khazir River is geologically active and crosses three anticlines from the north to th ...
to the west.
History
Most of the
Assyrians living in Nahla, which number around 20,000, moved there from
Hakkari after the
Assyrian genocide
The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish ...
that occurred during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. However, some villages were emptied in the 1960s when
fights between the Iraqi government and Kurdish separatists forced most of their inhabitants to flee to
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
and
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
. Some scarcely populated villages were completely destroyed later on during the
Anfal campaign
The Anfal campaign; ku, شاڵاوی ئەنفال or the Kurdish genocide was a counterinsurgency operation which was carried out by Ba'athist Iraq from February to September 1988, at the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The campaign targeted rur ...
in the 1980s as well. The population of the valley grew considerably following the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
, as many Assyrians living in
Dora and
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...
started settling back in the region.
There is significant friction between the
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...
and
Assyrians in the valley, with a history of violence, land
squatting, and voter suppression since the establishment of
Kurdistan Region
Kurdistan Region ( ku, هەرێمی کوردستان, translit=Herêmî Kurdistan; ar, إقليم كردستان), abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok ...
. On July 17, 1999, an armed group belonging to the Assyrian
Bethnahrin National Council attacked a PDK
Peshmerga
The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...
position in the region in retaliation for the murder of an Assyrian woman. The attack resulted in 39 deaths and 20 injured on the Kurdish side.
Iraq Report 6 August 1999, Volume 2, Number 29
GlobalSecurity.org
See also
* Duhok
*Barwari
Barwari ( syr, ܒܪܘܪ, ku, بهرواری, Berwarî) is a region in the Hakkari mountains in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. The region is inhabited by Assyrians and Kurds, and was formerly also home to a number of Jews prior to the ...
* Hakkari
*Sapna Valley
Sapna is a town and municipality located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
History
People have lived in the Sapna region since the earliest days. In the Middle Ages, Sapna was an im ...
*List of Assyrian settlements
The following is a list of historical and contemporary Assyrian settlements in the Middle East. This list includes settlements of Assyrians from Southeastern Turkey who left their indigenous tribal districts in Hakkari (or the historical Ha ...
References
Dahuk Governorage
Iraqi American Chamber of Commerce
AINA.org
{{coord, 36, 50, N, 43, 56, E, dim:30km_region:IQ-DA_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title, name=Nahla
Plains of Iraq
Assyrian geography
Dohuk Governorate
Nineveh Governorate
Geography of Iraqi Kurdistan