Baghdad as a whole remained quiet, with the capital serving not as a center for the uprisings, but as a staging post for the government counter-offensive.

[1] Whilst the uprisings saw the Iraqi Government lose control over 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces in March 1991, Baghdad remained largely passive.

[4] Baghdad also saw more limited unrest due to the fact that strict government control over the media and communication prevented the full scale of the Iraqi defeat in the Gulf War from being apparent to the residents of Baghdad, who, unlike the residents of southern Iraq, had not witnessed the Iraqi defeat unravel on their doorstep.

Whilst many parts of the country also saw some degree of a power vacuum, the Iraqi government maintained a large security presence within Baghdad.

The battalion was charged with sealing off and indiscriminately bombarding the district in the case of future revolts, in a manner similar to the Republican Guard actions in Najaf and Karbala.