The First Iraqi–Kurdish War
[Michael G. Lortz. (Chapter 1, Introduction). ''The Kurdish Warrior Tradition and the Importance of the Peshmerga''. pp.39-42. ] (), also known as the September Revolution (), was an
armed conflict
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
and major event of the
Iraqi–Kurdish conflict, lasting from 1961 until 1970. The conflict was led by
Mustafa Barzani
Mustafa Barzani (14 March 1903 – 1 March 1979), also known as Mullah Mustafa, was a Kurdish nationalist leader and one of the most prominent political figures in modern Kurdish politics.
In 1946, he was chosen as the leader of the Kurdistan ...
, in an attempt to establish an independent Kurdistan. Throughout the 1960s, the insurgency escalated into a long war, which failed to resolve despite internal power changes in Iraq. During the war, 80% of the Iraqi army was engaged in combat with the Kurds. A series of Iraqi–Kurdish negotiations followed the war in an attempt to resolve the conflict, ultimately leading to the
Iraqi–Kurdish Autonomy Agreement of 1970.
Background
After the
military coup by
Abdul Karim Qasim in 1958,
Barzani was invited by Qasim to return from exile. As part of a deal arranged by Qasim and Barzani, Qasim promised to give the Kurds regional autonomy in return for Barzani's support for his policies. Meanwhile, during 1959–1960, Barzani became the head of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling Political party, party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. ...
(KDP), which was granted legal status in 1960.
Warfare
By early 1960, it became apparent that Qasim would not follow through with his promise of regional autonomy. As a result, the
KDP began to agitate for regional autonomy. In the face of growing Kurdish dissent, as well as Barzani's personal power, Qasim began to incite the Barzanis historical enemies, the ''Bradost'' and ''Zebari'' tribes, which led to intertribal warfare throughout 1960 and early 1961.
By February 1961,
Barzani had mostly defeated the pro-government forces and Jash tribes slowly started submitting to him. At this point, Barzani ordered his forces to occupy and expel government officials from all Kurdish territory and issued an ultimatum to Baghdad demanding Kurdish autonomy. In september an local tribe (the Arkou) attacked an Iraqi army column, prompting a direct response from the government. Qasim ordered airstrikes on Barzani’s positions, stopping his push near the border.
[Fadel, Kamaran Palani. ''Iraqi Kurdistan's Statehood Aspirations: A Political Economy Perspective''. Taylor & Francis, 2022, p. 63]
Google Books
/ref>[McDowall, David. ''A Modern History of the Kurds''. I.B. Tauris, 2004, p. 69]
Google Books
/ref> This was not received well in Baghdad, and as a result, Qasim began to prepare for a military offensive against the north to return government control of the region. Meanwhile, in June 1961, the KDP issued a detailed ultimatum to Qasim outlining Kurdish grievances and demanded rectification. Qasim ignored the Kurdish demands and continued his planning for war. It was not until September 10, when an Iraqi army column was ambushed by a group of Kurds, that the Kurdish revolt truly began. In response to the attack, Qasim lashed out and ordered the Iraqi Air Force to indiscriminately bomb Kurdish villages, which ultimately served to rally the entire Kurdish population to Barzani's standard.
Kurdish villages were targeted by United States supplied munitions consisting napalm
Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated aluminium ...
bombs numbering 1,000 and 4,000 other bombs which were given by the United States to the Ba'athist government in Baghdad to use against the Kurds. Entire Kurdish villages and livestock were incinerated by the napalm bombs. The decision to supply napalm and other weapons to the Ba'athist was backed by American President Kennedy. Napalm bombs were also sold to Iraq by the United Kingdom. French Ambassador Bernard Dorin witnessed a girl in Iraqi Kurdistan whose face was burned off by the UK made bombs.
After the collapse of the Syrian political union with Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
in 1961, Syria was declared an ''Arab Republic'' in the interim constitution. On 23 August 1962, the government conducted a special population census only for the province of ''Jazira'' which was predominantly Kurdish. As a result, around 120,000 Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
in Jazira were arbitrarily categorized as ''aliens''. In addition, a media campaign was launched against the Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
with slogans such as "''Save Arabism in Jazira!'' " and "''Fight the Kurdish threat!''". These policies coincided with the beginning of Barzani's uprising in Iraqi Kurdistan and discovery of oilfields in the Kurdish inhabited areas of Syria. In June 1963, Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
took part in the Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
i military campaign against the Kurds
Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
by providing aircraft, armoured vehicles and a force of 6,000 soldiers. Syrian troops crossed the Iraqi border and moved into the Kurdish town of Zakho in pursuit of Barzani's fighters.
The Kurdish uprising received material support from Iran and Israel—both of them wishing to weaken Iraq. Israel regarded the Iraqi military as a possible threat in case of renewed fighting between Israel and Jordan and Syria. Iraqi forces had participated in the 1948 Arab invasion of Israel and Iraq was the only Arab participant in that war who refused to sign ceasefire agreements with Israel. Since then Iraq had on a number of occasions threatened to send forces to assist Jordan against Israel during rounds of border fighting between the two. Therefore, the Israelis wished to keep the Iraqis occupied elsewhere. Another Israeli interest was Kurdish assistance for Jews still living in Iraq to escape through Kurdish territory to Israel. Iran wished to strengthen its own political and military position vis-à-vis Iraq—the only other regional power in the Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
—and perhaps wring certain territorial concessions from Iraq in return for ceasing support of the Kurds (this was achieved in 1975, during the Second Iraqi-Kurdish War, but it is not clear when the idea was originally conceived).
In November 1963, after considerable infighting amongst the civilian and military wings of the Ba'athists, they were ousted by Abdul Salam Arif in a coup. Then, after another failed offensive on Kurds, Arif declared a ceasefire in February 1964, which provoked a split among Kurdish urban radicals on one hand and Peshmerga
The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...
forces, led by Barzani on the other. Barzani agreed to the ceasefire and fired the radicals from the party. Following the unexpected death of Arif, whereupon he was replaced by his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif, the Iraqi government launched a last-ditch effort to defeat the Kurds. which was not implemented due to the overthrow of Abdul Rahman Arif in a 1968 coup by the Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...
.
The Ba'ath government restarted a campaign to end the Kurdish insurrection, which stalled in 1969. This can be partly attributed to the Shah of Iran supplying the Kurds with weapons and ammunition. With Iranian help the Kurds decisively defeated the Iraqi advance.
The internal power struggle in Baghdad also greatly hindered Iraqi progress. Moreover, the Soviet Union pressured the Iraqis to come to terms with Barzani.
Peace talks
A peace plan was announced in March 1970 and provided for broader Kurdish autonomy. The plan also gave Kurds representation in government bodies, to be implemented in four years. Despite this, the Iraqi government embarked on an Arabization program in the oil rich regions of Kirkuk and Khanaqin in the same period.
Aftermath
In the following years, the Iraqi government overcame its internal divisions and concluded a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union in April 1972 and ended its isolation within the Arab world. On the other hand, Kurds remained dependent on the Iranian military support and could do little to strengthen their forces. By 1974 the situation in the north escalated again into the Second Iraqi–Kurdish War, which lasted until 1975.
See also
* Ramadan Revolution
* 1983–1986 Kurdish rebellions in Iraq
* 1991 uprisings in Iraq
The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings against Saddam Hussein, Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist Iraq, Ba'athist regime in Iraq that were led by Shia Islam in Iraq, Shia Arabs and Kurds in Iraq, Kurds. The uprisings lasted f ...
* List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
This is a list of modern conflicts ensuing in the geographic and political region known as the Middle East. The "Middle East" is traditionally defined as the Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia), Levant, and Egypt and neighboring areas of Arabia, An ...
* A Modern History of the Kurds by David McDowall
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:First Kurdish-Iraqi War
1960s in Iraq
1970 in Iraq
Wars involving Syria
Kurdish-Iraqi War
Civil wars in Iraq
Iraqi–Kurdish conflict
1960s conflicts
Conflicts in 1970
Proxy wars
20th century in Iraqi Kurdistan